Newsletter – July 13, 2020

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

A New Airfield In Antarctica? Australia Is Gearing Up To Build One

simpleflying.com

Antarctica’s first paved runway has moved a step closer to reality. Australia is moving forward with plans to build a 2,700-meter paved runway near its Davis research station in the Vestfold Hills. The Australian Government has now put the multi-million dollar project out for competitive tender. Read more here.

Qatar Airways moving a million kilograms for free

insidelogistics.ca

QATAR – From July to the end of December, 2020, charities will be able to use the services of Qatar Airways Cargo to transport humanitarian aid and medical supplies all over the world, free of charge.

Qatar Airways is donating one million kilos of freight to selected customers around the world to give to the charities of their choice. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Demand spike and blank sailings make US importers scramble for capacity

theloadstar.com

Just as their inbound flows are building up, US importers are facing tight capacity on the water, chiefly out of Asia.

“We had at least two conference calls with customers and shipping lines about this in the last few days,” reported Bob Imbriani, senior vice-president international of forwarder Team Worldwide. Read more here.

Thirteen countries pledge ships’ crews should be essential

insidelogistics.ca

LONDON – Thirteen members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have issued a joint statement urging all IMO states to designate seafarers as key workers and to implement the Protocols for Ensuring Safe Ship Crew Changes and Travel during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, which were endorsed and circulated by IMO in May. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

500,000 trucks could go electric in EU by 2030

lloydsloadinglist.com

With the deployment of 40,000 e-truck chargers at Europe’s freight movement ‘hotspots’, more than half a million road freight vehicles could be battery powered by 2030, according to a new report. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Ships today are travelling 17.4% slower than before Lehman Brothers collapsed

splash247.com

Cargoes are taking ever longer to reach their destinations in the continued fallout shipping has felt from the global financial crisis 12 years ago.

Taking 2008 as its starting point, Clarkson Research Services has shown how shipping has slowed down further and further since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a trend that shows no sign of abating. Read more here.