Newsletter – June 8, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

How slow ships are speeding up Hong Kong’s air cargo

freightwaves.com
Cathay Pacific’s move to restore a large amount of cargo capacity this quarter as Hong Kong lowers strict COVID restrictions is welcome news for businesses coping with high rates and tight transport supply in the Asian market. It also reflects the ingenuity of the airline and its home airport that kept cargo operations functioning in the midst of debilitating quarantine measures. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Shanghai Port Waiting Times Returning to Normal

gcaptain.com
Port congestion at Shanghai, home to the world’s busiest port, is returning to normal levels as the city emerges from its two-month COVID-19 lockdown.
This is according to new data from VesselsValue.com which analysized average waiting times across vessels types. As a whole, average waiting times for tankers, bulkers and containers at Shanghai have shortened to 28 hours, just an hour longer than the top of the range for this time of year over the past three years. This is down from peak average waiting times of 66 hours in late April at the height the lockdown. Read more here.

Ports introduce back-up plans as 25,000 truckers strike in South Korea

theloadstar.com
Unionised truck drivers in South Korea went on strike today, demanding that freight rates which guarantee basic wages must be achieved.
The Safe Trucking Freight Rates System was introduced during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to deter dangerous driving and to ensure minimum wages. It is scheduled to expire in December, after three years. Read more here (login required).

Shippers fear carbon tax will hike freight costs still higher

ajot.com
Such is the serious fear of the global business organisation representing cargo owners which export and import across international supply chains, the Global Shippers Forum.
Following the decade-long efforts of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to gain agreement on the so-called IMO 2023, a set of energy efficiency measures for existing ships, which final take effect next year, its MEPC will now discuss a further proposal put forward by the shipping industry to introduce a Carbon Tax on bunker fuel. This is intended to incentivise a switch to lower carbon emitting fuel options and could eventually double the current price of tradition bunker fuels. Read more here.

Liner average operating margins break all records

splash247.com
Average operating margins for the container industry are unprecedented in the history of shipping. Having gone through all Q1 results, the latest data from Alphaliner shows that the leading carriers are now generating a margin of 57.4%, versus an average of just -0.2% in the decade preceding the pandemic.
“The result indicates carriers are making a return before interest and tax of 57 cents on every dollar of sales, with some carriers generating almost 70 cents on every dollar,” Alphaliner stated in its most recent weekly report. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERMENT UPDATES

Concerns mount as more, old dangerous goods found at Chittagong port

theloadstar.com
Chittagong Port is storing dangerous goods (DG) that are up to 28 years old, according to port sources, as the spotlight turns onto the auction or destruction of the remaining DG, following the devastating fire at the BM Container depot that has so far claimed 44 lives.
The number of fatalities was revised down by authorities, but there are still many injured in hospital. Read more here.