Newsletter – March 8, 2018

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Supply chain bottlenecks could be a bonus for buoyant air freight sector

source: theloadstar.co.uk

Air freight volumes jumped some 8% in January and, while Chinese New Year may have distorted year-on-year figures, analysts believe the drivers of growth remain buoyant.

IATA’s air freight market analysis shows a month-on-month increase from the last part of 2017, and suggests “rising bottlenecks” within the supply chain would likely ‘benefit air freight over other modes of transport”. Read more here (login required)

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

The reality of digitization in shipping

source: lloydloadinglist.com

There is no shortage of digital initiatives in shipping. 100 shipping tech companies identified by a well known industry journal are approaching 1 Billion USD of investments. Right now we are seeing more than dozen companies in the process of launching ICOs (initial coin offering) for funding shipping-related blockchain initiatives – CargoX’s ICO for 7M USD that was filled in 7 minutes appear to be only the beginning. Read more here.

SHIP happens (twice)

source: splash247.com

Last year saw an explosion in the amount of money raised through so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs) and now that meteoric rise has arrived in the shipping industry as welll, with a dozen ICOs launching and more to come. Read more here.

Hapag-Lloyd sees UASC vessel and containers detained in Lebanon

source: lloydloadinglist.com

German container line Hapag-Lloyd has been ordered to pay United Arab Shipping Co’s former shipping agent in Lebanon $12.6m in damages.

The ruling was made by a Lebanese court, which has also detained a vessel and containers at the port of Beirut as collateral.

The order stems from Hapag-Lloyd’s alleged termination of a contract with agent Akak Marine, following the completion of its merger with UASC last May.

According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, after arriving at the port of Beirut on February 28, the UASC-owned, Liberia-flagged, 6,435 teu Mayssan was detained by Lebanese authorities, a Lloyd’s agent in Beirut said.

The court ruled that all Hapag-Lloyd assets at the port of Beirut are detained until the owner of the assets deposits a $12.6m bank guarantee issued by a Lebanese bank to the Court of Beirut, the agent added. The judge allowed the vessel on March 2 to discharge the containers destined for Beirut.[Excerpted from lloydsloadinglist.com]

Shippers fear huge surge in costs if IMO rules box ships must slow down

source: theloadstar.co.uk

While shippers have been warned that low-sulphur regulations to be enforced globally in 2020 will see bunker costs added to their freight bill, they could also face a huge upswing in freight rates if new proposals to cut vessel speeds, due to be discussed at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), turn into regulation. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Tesla’s electric Semi trucks make their first cargo deliveries

source: theloadstar.co.uk

Following last year’s much-reported unveiling, Tesla’s Semi has hit the road. Company bigwig Elon Musk made the announcement over his Twitter feed, with two of the full-electric rigs involved in the transport of batteries between two of the company’s facilities. While other Semis have been spotted on the roads, it seems these are the first to haul a trailer, according to Market Watch. Read more here (login required)