Newsletter – July 24, 2018

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

US fines HK shipper US $160,500 for shipping lithium batteries badly

source: shippingazette.com
THE US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has fined Woodioso Technology Ltd of Hong Kong US$160,500 for allegedly violating hazardous materials transport rules, in that it offered UPS air transport for improperly documented, packaged lithium ion batteries from Hong Kong to the US.
The shipment was stopped by UPS employees at the carrier’s Louisville, Kentucky. The FAA said Woodioso did not separately package the batteries, which risked fire, reported American Shipper. [Excerpted from shippingazette.com]

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Inventory run-downs threaten US freight growth

source: lloydsloadinglist.com
INVENTORY draw-downs by US retailers and manufacturers could exacerbate weak demand on the transpacific and undermine a potential recovery in container shipping, according to analysis by SeaIntel. Read more here.

Hedge Funds Short Maersk

source: splash247.com
The escalating threat posed by a global trade war is taking its toll on the shares of the world’s largest containerline.
Citing IHS Markit data, Bloomberg is reporting that as of last Friday, short interest in A.P. Moller-Maersk has leapt to around 6% of the company’s share capital, the highest on record since the data provider started tracking the Danish carrier’s shares in 2006. Read more here.

2M Alliance revises transatlantic network as trade demand shorter transits

source: seanews.com.tr
MAERSK and the Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) will revise its North Europe-US network to shorten transit times and offer better port pair coverage, reports American Shipper.
The 2M Alliance members plan to adjust their existing three loops so net capacity across the network will remain similar to today’s three loop levels before increasing it to four strings, said MSC.  Read more here.

Maersk launches 2nd transatlantic service from Eastern Canada

source: seanews.com.tr
DANISH shipping giant Maersk Line is to launch a second weekly all-water transatlantic service from Montreal and Halifax to the Mediterranean, which will also conveniently connect Eastern Canada with destinations in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Africa and the Far East.
Five Maersk Line-operated 1,800 TEU vessels will call at Montreal’s Cast terminal and Halterm in Halifax, and then sail non-stop to the Mediterranean. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Teamsters Ratify 4-Year Agreemet With CP

source: teamstersrail.ca
Laval, QC, July 20, 2018 – Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) at Canadian Pacific (CP) voted 64.7% to ratify a four-year agreement covering over 3000 conductors and locomotive engineers. Approximately 25 workers of the Kootenay Valley Railway (KVR) also ratified a five-year agreement by 91.7%.  Read more here.