Newsletter – November 27, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

China Airlines looks to offload more 747 freighters
aircargonews.net
China Airlines is looking to offload five of its ageing Boeing 747 freighters next year.
The Taiwan-based carrier has mandated AMS Aircraft Services (‘AMS’) to sell, via a Request For Proposal (‘RFP’) process, the five 747-400 freighters. Read more here.

WestJet Cargo expands its winter schedule with inaugural flights and relaunched destinations
aircargoweek.com
WestJet Cargo has expanded its cargo services for Winter schedule 2023 and has introduced new destinations to its network. With a commitment to meeting growing demand and enhancing connectivity, WestJet Cargo marked its debut in Havana, Cuba while relaunching services to Puerto Plata, Bridgetown, and Kingston. Read more here.

Good time for shippers to commit to longer-term air cargo contracts
theloadstar.com
Shippers should take advantage of lower rates in the first quarter to commit to longer-term airfreight contracts – while forwarders should move off the spot market, according to Xeneta.
Looking to 2024, Niall van we Wouw, chief airfreight officer at Xeneta, said: “Top of mind will be [shipper] ambition to agree longer-term contracts with their freight forwarders. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Carriers try for more GRIs on Asia-Europe, eyeing Thanksgiving positives
theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers regard the next two to three weeks as crucial to their rate restoration strategies, and are supporting tighter capacity management on the Asia-Europe tradelane with another volley of significant GRIs (general rate increases). Read more here (login required).https://theloadstar.com/carriers-try-for-more-gris-on-asia-europe-eyeing-thanksgiving-positives/

‘Stay cautious’ warning to carriers after suspected drone attack on box ship
theloadstar.com
Israel-linked ships are facing heightened risks on the Red Sea as targets for Iran-linked factions, as the conflict in Gaza continues.
Over the weekend, three vessels with ties to Israel found themselves in Iranian sights. Firstly, a suspected drone attack on the CMA CGM Symi, (pictured) a 15,264 teu box ship operated on behalf of CMA CGM by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. Read more here (login required)

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Biden administration announces massive logistics plan
freightwaves.com
The Biden administration has announced a huge plan to tackle issues plaguing the U.S. supply chain that covers several cross-government partnerships.
In announcing the plan Monday, White House officials said the strategy of using both domestic tools and international partnerships can help diversity and strengthen the U.S. supply chain. Citing supply chain disruptions from COVID, a White House official said, “We know hyper concentration of supply can be a problem.” Read more here (login required).