Newsletter – July 8, 2020

  • 08

    Jul

    Newsletter – July 8, 2020
    AIR FREIGHT UPDATES
    Air cargo market: Rationality returns, but for how long?
    freightwaves.com
    Current and lagging indicators show the air cargo market is continuing to stabilize after a three-month bubble that saw transport rates quintuple for China export routes. Despite the apparent slow-down in shipments of personal protective equipment, shortages of face masks and other medical supplies at U.S. hospitals could make the correction short-lived. Read more here.
    El Al crisis worsens, Aeromexico opts for bankruptcy
    freightwaves.com
    The airline industry is sitting on a financial hotseat as the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic burns up cash, but for some carriers it feels like an inferno.
    Israeli-flag carrier El Al on Thursday said it has ceased scheduled passenger operations through the end of July and sent most employees home without pay amid a liquidity crisis, while Aeromexico received court approval to use existing resources to pay employees and vendors, and honor ticket purchases and existing agreements with business partners as it seeks to restructure under U.S. bankruptcy protection. Read more here.
    OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES
    CMA CGM draws clear trans-Pacific service lines
    freightwaves.com
    The CMA CGM Group announced Monday it is simplifying its trans-Pacific trade network.
    As of Oct. 1, CMA CGM will become the group’s exclusive commercial carrier on the trans-Pacific trade, while APL will focus on its work for the U.S. government. Read more here.
    MSC responds to damning carbon claims
    splash247.com
    Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has denied accusations by NGO Transport & Environment that it is the seventh largest carbon emitter in Europe (see chart below).
    The world’s second largest containerline has responded to the carbon claims made by the NGO, claiming it has one of the lowest ratios of CO2 emissions per ton of cargo moved in the industry. Read more here.
    ‘Profiteering’ liners in the spotlight
    splash247.com
    Consultants Drewy issued a report noting how lines look set this year to make more money than they have in a long time as their crisis management tactics – “essentially blanking voyages” – has paid off “handsomely”.
    Whether container lines are profiteering from deliberately cutting too much capacity has stirred considerable debate in the last 24 hours. Read more here.
    GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES
    US-to-Canada truck crossings hit pre-COVID level
    freightwaves.com
    Truck crossings from the U.S. to Canada reached a pre-COVID-19 level last week, suggesting that the cross-border freight recovery didn’t miss a beat during two national holidays and the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade.
    About 85,000 truck drivers entered Canada from the U.S. during the week ending Sunday, data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released Tuesday shows. An almost identical number crossed during the comparable week in 2019.  Read more here.
    Equipment shortages driving up rail freight rates in US as UP bookings surge
    theloadstar.com
    The peak season appears to have come early this year for rail shippers in southern California,
    Spot rates for bookings on Union Pacific (UP) surged as much as 40% as customers scrambled for containers and open slots on trains. Read more here.
    INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES
    Southeast Asia vies for foreign manufacturers leaving China
    asia.nikkei.com
    JAKARTA — When Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled the site of a new industrial park in Batang, on the island of Java, his message to the world was clear: the country was open for business.
    “We want companies from China, of course, but also Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the U.S., and anywhere else in the world to move here,” the president, commonly known as Jokowi, said Tuesday while touring the location. Read more here.

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