Newsletter – October 6, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Shippers opt for longer air cargo contracts as the global market stays flat

theloadstar.com
The air cargo market may be “finding its feet again” – but it may take time.
Latest data suggests Q3 23 saw a 6% rise in shippers committing to airfreight contracts of six months or longer, now at 34% compared with 28% in Q2. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Red tape sees smaller US shippers lose out on D&D disputes

theloadstar.com
Thousands of ‘little guy’ shippers lost out to “unfair” D&D charges in the US during Covid, as the FMC cannot help if they were levied before OSRA implementation in June 2022.
Forwarder and founder of agency FourOneOne Sara Dandan expressed her frustrations in an interview with The Loadstar, saying: “I’ve lost count of how many people come to me for help in fighting misapplied demurrage and detention charges that barely missed the ‘deadline’.” Read more here (login required).

CMA CGM – the lurking predator

theloadstar.com
It’s busy days in Marseille.
All sorts of rumours concerning how CMA CGM managed a challenging Q3 23 have circulated, with most of them, as you may know, focusing on its 3PL arm, Ceva Logistics, and staff optimisation across various tiers of seniority. Read more here (login required).

More ocean rate gloom as analyst warns of further ‘severe downturn’

theloadstar.com
Asia-North Europe carriers took advantage of the Chinese national holiday this week to announce new headhaul FAK rates, effective from 1 November, which are double the level currently on offer via the spot market.
Hapag-Lloyd led the way on Monday raising its Asia-North Europe 40ft FAK rate to $1,750, followed by CMA CGM on Wednesday upping its FAK rate to $1,800 per 40ft. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Three Ways to Recognize Double Brokering

globaltrademag.com
The looming danger of double-brokering is on the rise, and it carries the potential for financial losses and legal troubles that could devastate your business. This, along with other fraud risks in the freight market, can quickly jeopardize your business and your reputation if you’re not careful.
Double-brokering can be prevented, but it requires careful attention to detail when verifying contact information, credentials, and documentation. Rushing the process is always a bad idea, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. However, there are indicators that should alert you to dig deeper. Read more here (login required).

Border bottleneck continues, creating huge delays for truckers

freightwaves.com
It has taken up to 16 hours for tractor-trailers operated by El Paso, Texas-based Tecma Group to cross the border in recent days, a trip that ordinarily takes about two hours.
The Southern border has been a mess for trucks hauling goods from Mexico to the U.S. for the past several weeks, as high numbers of daily migrant crossings and additional commercial truck inspections by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) snarl traffic at some of the busiest border crossings in the country. Read more here