Newsletter – March 14, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Airfreight rate relief for shippers, or are things going to ‘turn nasty’?

theloadstar.com
With air freight rates settling below peak-Covid levels, and the Baltic Air Freight Index slipping 1.5% last week, the market has been anticipating a second-half recovery.
However, according to one analyst, this is mere wishful thinking – a continuation of a weak market could impact contracts, according to Ti’s Air Freight Rate Tracker report, published yesterday. Read more here (login required).

Strikes At Several German Airports Set To Force Hundreds Of Cancellations

simpleflying.com
Staff at airports across Germany are set to strike on Monday as part of the latest collective action called by trade union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di). Airport security in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen will walk out over ongoing pay disputes, leading to hundreds of canceled flights. Read more here.

More signs of some improvement in air cargo

aircargonews.net
More reports have emerged this week suggesting that there might be a slight improvement in the air cargo market led by the ramping up of production in China.
In its latest weekly market report, data provider TAC Index pointed out that the overall Baltic Air Freight Index covering prices by forwarders rose 3.5% in the week to March 6. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

NYK sends first ship for demo in Bangladesh

splash247.com
Chattogram-based PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries said it has become the first ship recycling facility in Bangladesh to receive a ship from Japan.
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has sold its 1998-built multipurpose (MPP) vessel Kamo to PHP for recycling in line with the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC). Read more here.

Zim Q4 results surprise to upside but 2023 ‘extremely challenging’

freightwaves.com
Zim, the world’s 10th-largest ocean carrier, announced a big earnings beat for the fourth quarter and paid out a higher-than-expected dividend. However, it faces a tough year ahead, with a chance of at least some quarters in the red.
The company’s shares (NYSE: ZIM) surged Monday on news of the earnings beat, jumping as much as 25% in morning trading. Shares gave back most of their gains by the end of the day, closing up 6.6%. Trading was heavy, at more than four times average volume. Read more here.

Shippers cry foul as Sri Lanka government reneges on all-in rate rule

theloadstar.com
Shippers in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns over government action to deregulate export/import freight pricing, ending all-in rates and bringing back surcharges.
Thanks to a legal framework enacted in 2013 and re-approved in 2017, since January 2014, exporters/importers needed to pay just an “all-in” freight rate and this antitrust legal immunity has been cancelled. Read more here (login required).

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Containers outbound from Montreal undergoing extra CBSA scrutiny

insidelogistics.ca
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has stepped up inspections of export containers leaving the Port of Montreal.
In a note to customers, Maersk said that as of March 1, CBSA had increased the number of export exams in Montreal. Containers are being referred to the Entrepôts LaFrance examination facility for a full destuffing and exam. Read more here.