Newsletter – January 24, 2018

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Asian cargo monthly: A bumper year for Chinese carriers
source: aircargonews.net
Asian airlines enjoyed a strong 2017, with several carriers reporting their best cargo performance over recent years.
The region’s largest cargo carrier, Cathay Pacific, saw cargo demand increase by 9% year on year to reach 11.6bn cargo and mail revenue tonne kms. Read more here.

E-commerce and pharma piloting strong air freight performance into 2018
source: theloadstar.co.uk
Air freight rates may have dipped slightly in December, but as expected, 2017 was a strong year for airlines.
And 2018 looks set to be a year marked by air capacity shortages, with forwarders already concerned about booking sufficient space through the year. Read more here (login required).

 OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Bitcoin used in landmark freight deal
source: splash247.com
The Prime Shipping Foundation – an open-source project by Gibraltar-based Quorum Capital and shipbroker Interchart-has revealed it was behind the world’s first freight deal settled in Bitcoin. Read more here.

Fewer than 100 idle boxships as demand for tonnage stays tight
source: shippingonline.cn
ALPHALINER’s latest survey shows that the number of containerships in lay-up fell below 100 as more demand and less supply put the brakes on scrapping.
As at January 8, there were 99 vessels, equating to 377,784 TEU, anchored in hot or cold lay-up, compared with 351 ships for 950,000 TEU a year ago. At 1.8 per cent of the global cellular fleet, idled container tonnage is at its lowest level since mid-2015, according to London’s Loadstar. Read more here.

Hapag-Lloyd sees mergers ahead, and shipping growth rising 4pc in 2018
source: shippingonline.cn
GERMAN shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd expects demand for transport to grow four per cent this year and sees more carrier mergers ahead, Reuters reports.
“Some nine of formerly 20 companies will have disappeared by the end of 2018,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. Read more here.

 CANADIAN BUSINESS GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Canada’s ‘progressive trade’ agenda risks NAFTA withdrawal by US
source: shippingonline.cn
CANADA’s “progressive trade agenda”, that stymied its bid for a trade deal with China late year, now risks sinking current NAFTA trade talks with the US, reports Bloomberg.
US officials are frustrated with Canada’s insistence on workplace “gender balance” and “climate change” provisions being included – a condition that sunk prospects of an accord with China last year. Read more here.