Newsletter – September 28, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Hurricane Ian: More Than 2,000 Flights Canceled In The US

simpleflying.com
Thousands of flights in the US have been canceled as Hurricane Ian begins to make landfall. Over 350 flights were canceled on Tuesday and another 1,900 on Wednesday as the Category 4 storm approaches Florida. Read more here.

Delhi And Mumbai Airports Are The World’s Top Two Low-Cost Megahubs

simpleflying.com
The two busiest airports in India – Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai (BOM) – have also emerged as the top two low-cost Megahubs in 2022. OAG, the leading data platform for the global travel industry, released its Megahubs 2022 report a few days ago, which, among other rankings, also produced a list of the leading airports for low-cost flights. Read more here.

IATA: Air cargo is lagom – not too hot, not too cold

aircargonews.net
IATA chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen turned to her native language of Swedish when asked to outline the current state of the air cargo market, describing it as lagom – not too hot, not too cold.
Speaking to the press after the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) opening, Thomsen said that trade volumes had slowed this year following the Covid-rebound year of 2021, but they hadn’t gone into decline. Read more here.

Cargo volumes decline at Brussels airport as passenger flights return

aircargoweek.com
As Brussels airport welcomed 2.2 million passengers through its doors, the hub saw cargo traffic continue its gradual decline.
2,154,380 passengers chose Brussels Airport in August, 82% of the number of passengers recorded in August 2019. As in July, this growth was primarily due to a strong recovery in the holiday market and visits to family and friends. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

West Coast dockworker talks imperiled by Seattle labor dispute

ajot.com
A dispute over the assignment of work at a terminal in Seattle is casting a shadow on the outcome of talks to reach a new labor contract between 22,000 dockworkers at 29 US West Coast ports and about 70 employers, the union representing the employees said.
In a statement Tuesday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said SSA Marine Inc. — the largest marine terminal at Seattle — together with another labor organization it didn’t identify is seeking an intervention from the National Labor Relations Board over assigning which workforce can perform tasks at SSA.  Read more here.

Maersk remains the only investment-grade credit in the container shipping space

splash247.com
According to Drewry analysis, which includes a forecast for 2023, in just three years, the container shipping industry will have made as much money as the entire previous six decades.
Nevertheless, container shipping’s credit rating remains poor despite the record earnings, something of potential alarm as the box market now shows multiple signs of weakening. Read more here.

Shippers now have the edge when it comes to contract renewal, says Drewry

theloadstar.com
Shippers will be back on the front foot when the 2023 contract negotiations begin, but a leading maritime consultant is advising BCOs not to “seek revenge” by excluding carriers that have ’treated them badly’.
In its latest executive briefing, Drewry reminds shippers preparing to tender for the coming year that there are now just nine global ocean carriers remaining, and that most medium and larger-sized BCOs will need to work with at least five to support their supply chain. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

US trucking forced into low gear as shippers use breathing space to cut costs

theloadstar.com
Despite an improvement in August, US trucking firms are in for a slow ride as economic conditions weaken.
Meanwhile, shippers are using the breathing space to optimise networks and reduce costs, although not in a push to reduce rates to pre-pandemic levels. Read more here (login required).