Newsletter- September 19, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

100s Of Flights Canceled In Japan Due To Typhoon Nanmadol

simpleflying.com
Dubbed as what could be the strongest global storm ever to hit Japan, super typhoon ‘Nanmadol’ came with a level 5 alert and has forced evacuations and disrupted travel services in Japan’s southwestern region. With the typhoon having already made landfall, the heavy rain and strong winds have made flying critically unsafe, forcing airlines to cancel several flight services within the country. Read more here.

Cathay Pacific claws back capacity amid flat demand

aircargonews.net
Cathay Pacific has continued to benefit from the easing of quarantine restrictions in Hong Kong and the return of its full freighter schedule but suffered from flat demand during the summer.
Overall figures reflected a challenging market, but the airline operated 59% of its pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity in August, said chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam. Read more here.

Air cargo tonnages drop again

aircargoweek.com
Worldwide air cargo tonnages dropped again in the first full week of September after recovering somewhat in the previous two weeks, the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data reveal, with no clear signs yet of a post-summer, pre-peak revival.
Looking at week 36 (September 5 – 11) alone, worldwide chargeable weight decreased 5% compared with the previous week. But comparing weeks 35 and 36 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), volumes in the last two weeks combined were broadly stable on a 2Wo2W basis, while average worldwide rates declined 1%, with a slight decrease in capacity. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Liverpool strike to start this evening

splash247.com
The two-week strike at the port of Liverpool on the west coast of Britain will start this evening after unions and Peel Ports failed to reach a pay deal. The strike will coincide with another round of industrial action at Felixstowe, the country’s largest container port, where workers will down tools for eight days from next week.
Research from VesselsValue shows that average waiting times for containers at Felixstowe shot up in August during the last round of industrial action, rising from about five hours earlier in the summer to a peak of 30 hours during the strike. Read more here.

‘Hard landing’ forecast for container freight rates

splash247.com
Container shipping has been warned to brace for a hard landing rates-wise as multiple indices around the world plunge further.
Utilisation rates are sliding despite an increase in blank sailings. Spot rates, as recorded by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), are on a “fast-declining trend” according to a new report from Jefferies. Read more here.

Suez Canal Authority to raise tolls again

splash247.com
Having already raised fees three times in quick succession this year, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has warned shipowners of another increase coming up.
The SCA will raise fees for tankers by 15% starting in the new year, while bulk ships and cruise vessels face a 10% increase in fees to transit the waterway linking Asia with Europe. Read more here.

Analysts warn box lines to withdraw capacity as spot rates sink

theloadstar.com
Container spot freight rates took another pummelling this week with a raft of double-digit week-on-week declines seen on some of the major trades.
According to the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), the transpacific eastbound Asia-US west coast trade dropped 10% to $4,314 per 40ft today, some 80% lower than the same point last year, although FBX lead analyst Judah Levine noted that the shift of US import volumes from west to east coast ports was propping up the spot rates for boxes moving via the Panama Canal. Read more here (login required).