Newsletter – July 30, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Air cargo peak looms, Flexport warns – or here already and getting intense

theloadstar.com
Air cargo’s peak season will start in August – or rather, the existing peak will “get worse”, according to Flexport.
A perfect storm of high demand – in part driven by the slow-moving and expensive sea freight market, low sales-to-inventory ratio, increased e-commerce and low capacity – is set to see the second half busy in the skies.
“Prepare for a more intense traditional peak season,” Neel Jones Shah, head of air freight, told customers on a webinar.
“A lot of shippers are waiting to replenish their inventories. Consumers have saved $3trn in the US alone, and they want to spend their money. Read more here.

Airbus confirms A350 freighter while Boeing mulls all-cargo B777X

aircargonews.net
Airbus has announced the launch of an A350 freighter while Boeing has confirmed a B777X freighter is under consideration.
While announcing its half-year results, Airbus confirmed that it hopes to launch a freighter version of the A350 in 2025, although the manufacturer has not confirmed a launch customer so far.
With the aircraft likely to have a slightly lower capacity than B777s, Airbus is pitching the aircraft on its efficiency and its ability to meet stricter ICAO emissions regulations coming into force in 2028. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

American port congestion worsens

splash247.com
ummer is proving to be fearsomely hot for dockworkers on every coast of America, working record volumes of boxes with ships forming long queues at many gateways as peak season arrives on what has already been a peak year. The grave situation has been made worse by strained rail connections inland and rollover effects from earlier disruptions such as the Covid outbreak at key Chinese export hub Yantian, which saw the port work at just 30% of capacity for most of June. Read more here.

Ocean freight spot rates make further gains this week

lloydsloadinglist.com
Ocean freight spot rates made further gains this week from their already record-high levels, across the vast majority of the eight major East-West trades assessed by Drewry ut the issue of disparity in price indices has been brought into sharper relief by FBX re-calculation on Asia-US  trade lane.
According to its World Container Index (WCI), on the trans-Pacific, spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased 6% to $10,503/feu (+258% year over year – YoY) while prices from Shanghai to New York were up 13%to come in at $13,434 for a 40ft box (+300% YoY). Read more here.

South African port operations get back to normal eight days after cyber attack

splash247.com
Transnet, South Africa’s main port operator, has got operations back up after being struck by a cyber attack last week.
“Transnet Port Terminals, in collaboration with the shipping lines is facilitating the evacuation of urgent containers for the automotive, FMCG and agricultural sectors,” Transnet said in a statement.
Transnet was hit by a form of ransomware known as Death Kitty, which forced it to declare force majeure on July 22.
Cyber attacks are more likely to occur in South Africa than any other African country, recent data shows. That is because South Africa is ranked third in the world for the highest number of users experiencing targeted ransomware attacks. Read more here.

Cargo Ship Infested with Insects Ordered to Leave New Orleans

maritime-executive.com
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently refused entry into the Port of New Orleans for a cargo ship and ordered it to depart U.S. waters after an inspection found invasive insects aboard the vessel. As part of the ongoing role of CBP, this incident also highlights a broader issue which is drawing increased interest from international organizations to reduce the risk of the spread of invasive insects and plants during cargo operations. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Disaster ‘that never happened’ could delay Euro rail cargo until mid-August

theloadstar.com
Criticism is mounting over a lack of information following the disruption to Belgium’s rail network by the severe flash floods that hit Northern Europe a fortnight ago.
One source told The Loadstar that, as calls for an official investigation into the disaster appear to have succeeded, disruption to inland navigation and rail transport has been compounded by “zero communication” from suppliers and ports.
“The whole disaster and its impact on multimodal operations between the port of Antwerp and the hinterland is nowhere to be found,” said the source. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Canada’s economy rebounds, on track for 2.5% annualized growth

bnnbloomberg.ca
Canada’s economy sprang back to life at the end of the second quarter, as vaccine-led reopenings spurred a return to growth.
Gross domestic product likely grew 0.7 per cent in June after a 0.3 per cent drop in May, Statistics Canada reported Friday. May’s decline was in line with expectations; coupled with the preliminary estimate for a rebound last month, growth is on pace to come in around 2.5 per cent in the quarter on an annualized basis.
That’s in line with private-sector economist predictions but ahead of the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 2 per cent for the three-month period. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Shippers struggle to land carrier space despite preparing for peak early

supplychaindive.com
Parcel carriers’ recent investments in capacity may still not be enough for peak season, leading shippers to prepare for another challenging holiday period with limited space and higher costs.
During the 2021 holiday shipping season, delivery demand is expected to exceed capacity by 5 million pieces a day, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said on the company’s Q2 earnings call Tuesday. The looming capacity crunch, fueled in part by the online shopping surge, and other challenges throughout the order-to-delivery process mean retailers not already gearing up for peak will have a bumpy holiday season, experts say. Read more here.