NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER 21, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Italian ATC Strike Set To Cause Holiday Disruption Tomorrow

simpleflying.com
Friday, October 21st will see air traffic controllers across Italy on a 24-hour strike from 00:01 to 23:59. The nationwide strike will also see several airline employees and airport ground staff chipping in. Even though the Italian Civil Aviation Authority has secured two slots for a guaranteed number of flights, numerous airlines are still forced to trim their schedules severely. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Vancouver congestion remains, Montreal facing low water

insidelogistics.ca
Congestion at the Port of Montreal has declined, but low water levels have prompted a new surcharge. And on the West Coast long wait time for vessels at the Port of Vancouver continue.
In its weekly ports update, Maersk reports on vessel wait times at North America’s major ocean ports.Vancouver is “Experiencing heavy congestion,” it said. The recovery plan is to hold each line to committed volumes on a weekly basis. Read more here.

Ocean carrier voyage blankings causing chaos and confusion for shippers

theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers are ramping-up their vessel blanking programmes from Asia as export demand weakens, but last-minute cancellations are causing chaos in supply chains and confusion within liner offices.
Moreover, shippers are having to navigate their way around ‘officially’ announced blank sailings and voyages pulled just days before arrival in China and held off the loading port, in what carriers term as ‘slidings’. Read more here.

Export markets ‘destabilised’ as carriers are forced to ‘undersell’ capacity

theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers are endeavouring to top up their ships from China with heavily discounted spot cargo as their contracted shippers underperform on minimum quantities.
However, it appears that if bookings still fall below around 60% vessel utilisation levels, carriers are cancelling voyages at the eleventh hour, declaring a blank sailing to the trade. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FRIEGHT UPDAES

Unifor and CN begin negotiations

insidelogistics.ca
Unifor Council 4000 and Unifor Local 100 bargaining committees opened bargaining for a new collective agreement with CN this week in Montreal.
Unifor represents about 3,600 workers at Local 100 and Council 4000, who work at CN terminals and HQ across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists and electricians, as well as clerical and administration, customer support and fleet mechanics among others. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

China, ‘factory of the world,’ is losing more of its manufacturing and export dominance, latest data shows

cnbc.com
China is losing more manufacturing and export market share in key sectors to Asian neighbors, with recent “Zero Covid” policies a significant factor leading to further erosion in its long-time dominance of global trade.
According to data shared with CNBC by transport economics firm MDS Transmodal, China has lost ground in key consumer categories, including clothing and accessories, footwear, furniture, and travel goods, while also seeing declines in its share of exports from minerals to office technology. Read more here.

Small cars are an endangered species — blame the supply chain

freightwaves.com
If you are yearning for a wee Honda Civic, you’ll be waiting a while.
That’s according to Aric Curtice, a sales and leasing consultant at Superior Honda of Omaha, Nebraska. He’s warned recent customers asking for a Honda Civic that they’ll have to wait up to two months for their vehicles. Wannabe pickup truck or SUV drivers, though, only have to wait about a month. Read more here.