Newsletter – June 17, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Alaska Air Cargo pledges not to add fuel surcharges

aircargonews.net
Alaska Air Cargo’s managing director Adam Drouhard has pledged that the carrier will not add any fuel surcharges.
Other airlines have imposed increases of up 30%, he said. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Japanese shipping company suing Union Pacific over solar panels stolen from train

freightwaves.com
Japanese container shipping company Ocean Network Express is suing Union Pacific over cargo theft that occurred on UP’s intermodal trains.
According to ONE’s legal filing in the U.S. District Court for Nebraska, UP (NYSE: UNP) was contracted to deliver solar panels from China to Salt Lake City via the Port of Los Angeles, but when the panels arrived at Salt Lake City, the container’s door was missing and the panels had been stolen. Read more here.

Long Beach sets record but East, Gulf Coast ports’ gains bigger

freightwaves.com
“Cargo continues to move at a record-setting pace and may not slow down anytime soon,” according to Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach.
The port on California’s San Pedro Bay recorded its busiest April ever. Its neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles, had the second-busiest April in its history even though it posted a year-over-year cargo volume decrease. But the strongest performances in April took place at ports on the Gulf and East coasts. Read more here.

China congestion easing after projected cargo boom fails to materialise

theloadstar.com
China’s port congestion is easing as Shanghai’s post-lockdown cargo boom fails to materialise, and the city’s container supply chain recovery seems unaffected by a sudden lurch back to lockdown last weekend.
Crane Worldwide Logistics said Shanghai was operating as usual after yet another round of mass testing, noting only shippers with facilities in quarantined areas would be impacted. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Update from CP Rail on Terminal Fluidity-Montreal and Toronto

ciffa.com
In messaging CIFFA obtained from CP on the evening of June 16, the railway provided an update on its terminal fluidity at Montreal and Toronto terminals, where CP was “metering empties through Montreal and Toronto gates in order to alleviate congestion and ensure fluidity through terminals.”
CP indicated that as of the morning of June 16 gates in Toronto were back to normal operations, and the same will be in effect in Montreal as of Friday morning, June 17.
CP said it will continue to monitor terminal congestion, to ensure fluidity is maintained, and that drivers can be serviced in a timely manner.

Used truck auction prices plunge as freight market cools

freightwaves.com
Auction prices of used trucks are falling almost as quickly as they rose over the last year. That is leaving owner-operators stuck with overpriced equipment they thought they could pay for in a hot spot freight market that is cooling off.
“The market is primarily absorbing trucks from fleets no longer retaining all of their older iron as new trucks trickle in and, to an extent, from owner-operators leaving the industry or going to work for a fleet,” said Chris Visser, senior analyst and commercial vehicles product manager for J.D. Power Valuation Services. Read more here.