Newsletter – January 26, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Jon Turner Appointed Vice President, Cargo

media.aircanada.com
MONTREAL, January 25, 2023 – Air Canada today announced that Jon Turner, currently Vice President, Inflight Services, has been appointed Vice President, Cargo effective February 18, 2023.
An accomplished airline executive with expertise in global strategy, operations and customer service, Mr. Turner has held a wide range of progressively critical, senior leadership roles at Air Canada and other Canadian airlines. Read more here.

International airfreight rates hit turbulence and ocean freight prices sink. Will shoppers benefit?

aircargoweek.com
Global airfreight rates will continue to fall for the first half of 2023, the international delivery expert ParcelHero stated. It says airfreight rates are up in the air currently but likely to fall, and ocean transport rates will continue to sink. That should drive down prices for shippers, retailers and, ultimately, consumers. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Liner shipping digests the news of the 2M divorce

splash247.com
Liner shipping has had 24 hours to digest the “bombshell” news that the world’s two largest containerlines are to dissolve their 2M alliance within the next two years, something that paves the way for enormous changes in the global liner hierarchy.
In a joint statement yesterday, Vincent Clerc, the new CEO of A. P. Moller – Maersk, and Soren Toft, MSC’s CEO, said: “Discontinuing the 2M alliance paves the way for both companies to continue to pursue their individual strategies.” Read more here.

Capacity control by the biggest carriers will prevent rates tumbling further

theloadstar.com
This year, container freight rates will be determined by how liner operators control shipping supply, rather than actual cargo demand, predicted a key South Korean shipping researcher.
Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) shipping research director Ko Byung-woo told the 2023 Oceans and Fisheries Outlook conference last week shipping lines had concurred that stabilising freight levels, rather than raising market share, would maximise profits. Read more here (login required).

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Foreign Exchange Crisis Leaves Pakistan Struggling to Pay for Imports

maritime-executive.com
A severe foreign exchange crisis in Pakistan is hitting importers hard, particularly for oil and for containerized freight, and it has the potential to reshape substantial parts of the nation’s trading ties.
Pakistan’s national reserves of dollars – the currency of choice for foreign trade – have fallen to less than $4.5 billion, the lowest level in eight years. A combination of political upheaval, natural disasters, inflation and high energy prices have rocked the nation’s economy, while a steady outflow of foreign debt payments have depleted its reserves.  Read more here.