Newsletter – June 17, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

American Airlines joins cargo.one

aircargoweek.com
American Airlines and cargo.one have entered into a strategic partnership expanding the airline’s cargo capacity offering to cargo.one’s leading e-booking platform for air cargo.
Starting in Europe, with global expansion following, freight forwarders will be able to access American’s cargo capacity in real-time and book with instant confirmation. Read more here.

Ex-Asia air freight market set to pick up again

lloydsloadinglist.com
Asian air freight export markets look set to pick up this week following a slight softening in recent weeks, according to freight forwarder Flexport.
In its latest Freight Market Update this week, the US freight forwarder said the ex-Asia air freight market “remains a bit subdued” from the highs seen in early May and around Chinese New Year, “but indications point to demand picking up this week as we near the end of Q2 (the second quarter)”. Read more here.

Air freight must alter its mindset before it can mine real benefits from index data

theloadstar.com
The air cargo industry needs a better understanding of indices – and the role of the Baltic Exchange – if it is to fully benefit from the data provided, according to the exchange.
But some senior air cargo executives think the current business model and thinking of the industry must change before it can take advantage of products such as derivatives.
The Baltic Exchange, which partnered with the TAC Index last year, has been involved in the commodisation of freight markets for … Read more here (login required).

Air Canada Bets Big On Summer: Will Serve 50 Canadian Airports

simpleflying.com
Air Canada is getting behind the country’s hospitality, tourism, and the broader economy as it restores and launches multiple new routes over the northern summer. In total, Canada’s flag carrier will fly to 50 airports across the country this summer. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Shippers, brokers square off over ocean carrier tariff prices

freightwaves.com
Brokers booking freight on behalf of their customers say they have no choice but to pass through charges assessed by ocean carriers — charges that some shippers claim are unjustified.
That was one of the main takeaways from the only three public comments filed in response to an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in April. Read more here.

More than 600,000 teu impacted from Yantian fallout

splash247.com
Estimates suggest more than 600,000 teu has now been affected from the fallout of an outbreak of Covid-19 around Yantian Port in southern China with ports around the world braced for a severe shortage of equipment in the coming weeks, just as the US peak season gets underway.
Quizzed by Splash today as to the total number of boxes hit by the three-week Yantian crisis, Lars Jensen, one of the world’s most respected container shipping analysts, said: “A reasonable estimate right now is that at least 600,000 teu have been impacted – also indicating a backlog of some 300,000 teu of export cargo waiting to get moved out of the region with the remainder being a mix of import cargo and import empty equipment.” Read more here.

Burnt ship sinks, Sri Lanka fears pollution

insidelogistics.ca
Wreck of the Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl is now sitting on the seabed
A container ship carrying chemicals sank off Sri Lanka’s capital on Thursday nearly a month after catching fire, raising concerns about a possible environmental disaster.
The ship’s operator said the wreck of the Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl “is now wholly sitting on the seabed at a depth of 21 meters (70 feet).”
A salvage crew was at the site to deal with any debris and report any spill, said the operator, X-Press Feeders. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Rail unions speak out against CN-KCS merger

insidelogistics.ca
Several of the labour unions that serve the railway industry have spoken out against the proposed merger between CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) railways.
SMART-Transportation Division (SMART-TD), North America’s largest railroad operating union, has submitted a letter urging the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to reject CN’s proposed use of a voting trust.  Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

U.S. retailers ask Biden to address port congestion

insidelogistics.ca
National Retail Federation wants to meet with President Biden and other top U.S. administration officials to discuss supply chain challenges
The National Retail Federation has requested to meet with President Biden and other top U.S. administration officials to discuss the challenges retailers face from congestion at U.S. ports. Read more here.