Newsletter – July 26, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Lufthansa Cargo reduces freighter schedule as Covid pilot agreement expires

aircargonews.net
Lufthansa Cargo will reduce its freighter schedule by around 5% from today as an agreement with pilots over extended flying to meet Covid restrictions comes to an end.
The airline said that the changes to its summer freighter flight schedule was “unavoidable in context with the ongoing global pandemic”.
“Strict entry regulations continue to apply in a large number of countries due to the coronavirus pandemic,” a spokeswoman said.
“The continuation of the current flight schedule in its entirety is therefore not possible for operational reasons.” Read more here.

New roles at Air Canada Cargo for Casey and Chan as revenues hit a new high

aircargonews.net
Air Canada Cargo has promoted Matthieu Casey to senior director, cargo global sales and revenue optimisation while Ivy Chan has joined the airline as director, cargo sales and services, Asia and Pacific.
Casey will lead Air Canada Cargo’s global sales as well as the business intelligence, network strategy, interline partnerships, pricing and distribution and capacity optimisation teams. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Port of Vancouver Operations Update

ciffa.com
CP’s rail line between Kamloops and Revelstoke remains unaffected by wildfires burning in the vicinity. Evacuation alerts and orders for surrounding communities remain in place as fire prevention measures are undertaken in the area.
CN and CP mainlines through the B.C. interior are operational, with processed railcar volumes to/from the coast remaining consistent. Hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to persist throughout central and southern B.C., keeping the risk of wildfires high. The evolving fire situation may result in temporary stoppages to rail operations. Railways continue to operate under Ministerial Order (MO) 21-06 requirements, which include targeted speed restrictions, increased equipment inspections, and fire prevention measures.
The provincial state of emergency declared by the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective July 21 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require. The state of emergency enables federal, provincial and local governments to allocate resources and deliver a coordinated response to protect the public.

Keppel set for FPSO legal fight

splash247.com

Singapore’s Keppel Corporation has been served with a legal claim related to two engineering, procurement and construction contracts for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.
Namely, Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiaries have received a request for arbitration from an unnamed counterparty, which has according to Keppel, withheld a total of approximately $11.3m under the contracts and has claimed a further payment of around $31.2m, claiming it is entitled to a price reduction under the contracts. Read more here.

Union Pacific to restart container shipments from west coast to Chicago next week

splash247.com
A temporary halt by Union Pacific (UP) to rail shipments of international containers from the US west coast ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and Tacoma will come to an end early next week, said UP chief executive Lance Fritz. The pause on shipments to UP’s Global IV facility in Chicago began on July 18, and was expected to last for a week. Read more here.

Newbuild prices under pressure as steel plate prices surge

splash247.com
Sharply contrasting fortunes from two Korean conglomerates last week have sparked conjecture on whether newbuild prices will head further north.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s largest shipbuilder, reported a Q2 loss last week, citing soaring steel plate losses for its red ink performance, while Posco, South Korea’s top steel mill, registered an all-time record quarterly result. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Shippers seek collaboration, not regulation, to fix supply chain

lloydsloadinglist.com
Breaking up container shipping alliances would not help solve the current crisis of congestion and high freight rates, with the Global Shippers’ Alliance instead seeking a more transparent container shipping sector. But it admits shippers have to do their part to if supply and demand are to remain in balance
Further regulation of container shipping is unlikely to provide a pathway out of the current supply chain crisis, and the sector should look towards co-operation to prevent similar problems occurring in the future, according to Global Shippers’ Alliance chairman Denis Choumert. Read more here.

DHL partners Dronamics for same-day cargo drone deliveries

lloydsloadinglist.com
Flights expected next year, combining Dronamics’ ‘middle-mile’ cargo drones with DHL’s first- and last-mile services, with ‘plans to build and operate over 4,000 cargo drones to support the partnership in the coming years’
DHL has signed a partnership agreement with cargo drone developer Dronamics to jointly develop solutions and offer same-day cargo drone deliveries to customers using Dronamics’ cargo drone delivery network and Black Swan drones. Read more here.