Newsletter – September 13, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

PIA Operates First Commercial Kabul Flight Since US Forces Left

simpleflying.com
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has become the first airline to return to Kabul, Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country. The airline arrived this morning with a Boeing 777 on a chartered service. Around 100 people made the journey back to Islamabad on board. Read more here.

What Are The World’s Top Cargo Hubs?

simpleflying.com
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year was the catalyst for several key changes in the aviation industry. While passenger traffic has fallen sharply, the crisis has been something of a boom for airfreight. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the world’s 10 busiest airports in terms of cargo operations in 2020, and how their figures compare to 2019. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Port operations in Shanghai and Ningbo halted by Typhoon Chanthu

lloydsloadinglist.com
Ports in Shanghai and Ningbo, the world’s largest and third-largest container hubs, have closed for the second time due to the impact of a typhoon this summer.
China’s National Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert, the second-most serious level, for the Typhoon Chanthu, which is expected to make landfall in the Zhoushan Archipelago, Zhejiang province on Monday with strong gales and heavy rainfall. Read more here.

2M blank sailings resurface and take angry shippers by surprise

theloadstar.com
A container shipping line announcement that it would blank four sailings in the Golden Week period has left shippers, still struggling to get cargo out of Asia, “staggered” at the move.
The 2M is the first alliance to announce blank sailings over China’s October holiday period and has left some shippers in limbo, with booked cargo on the cancelled sailings and still struggling to find capacity on brim-full export ships from Asia. Read more here (login required).

Søren Skou Calls on IMO to Set “End Date for Fossil-Fueled Shipping”

maritime-executive.com
Maersk CEO Søren Skou has thrown down the gauntlet on decarbonization, challenging IMO to set a timeline for phasing out the use of fossil fuels in shipping.
“The European Commission is proposing to end production of combustion engine cars in 2035. The International Maritime Organization should do the same for fossil fueled ships with ambitious targets and measures to decarbonize shipping,” Skou said in a social media post Friday. Read more here.

Liners react to CMA CGM’s preemptive spot move

splash247.com
Many of the world’s leading liners remain flat footed by last week’s rate capping announcement from CMA CGM.
The Marseille-headquartered liner shocked fellow liners on Thursday by publicly announcing it will stop all spot rate increases through to the beginning of February. The liner said the preemptive move was designed to prioritise its long-term relationships with customers in the face of an “unprecedented situation” in the shipping industry.
The rates announcement will stand for all the group’s brands including CNC, Containerships, Mercosul, ANL and APL. Read more here.

Spiralling shipping costs threaten survival of small businesses

lloydsloadinglist.com
Shippers are facing a “meltdown of the container shipping market” as they enter the peak season, according to the latest Container Shipping Market Review from the Global Shippers’ Forum and MDS Transmodal.
With deployed capacity failing to keep pace with growing consumer and business demand, a “rapidly disintegrating” box shipping market was pushing up shipping rates beyond the reach of many small and medium sized businesses. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

NRF: Retail imports remain strong, but COVID still slowing growth

progressiverailroading.com
Double-digit growth in imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports is slipping to single digits as pandemic-related supply chain disruptions continue, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report.
U.S. ports covered by the report, released by National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, handled 2.19 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July, the latest month for which final numbers are available.  Read more here.