Announcements

---

A recent survey released by Container xChange spelled trouble for those of us in the e-commerce and shipping industry who still hold out hope that this year’s peak season will be less chaotic than the ones in 2020 and 2021.

Sourcing raw materials to ensure the efficient delivery of end products and building an end-to-end supply chain isn’t an easy job. The back-to-back headwinds, including the Covid-19 pandemic followed by a physical and proxy war between global giants, have added a spanner in the works, further stressing the trade ecosystem.

Companies are finding innovative solutions to manage their supply chain, from developing cloud-based applications for employees to perform routine tasks to creating information systems that provide real-time insights on port call estimates.

The future of the supply chain looks brighter. Moving forward, businesses that take advantage of additive manufacturing opportunities will be able to obtain the goods they ned, when they need them. This will lead to positive economic impacts as these goods reach their destinations.

As global supply chain disruption continues there has been a significant improvement in the number of containerships waiting at port for berths according to analysis by Sea-Intelligence.  Since between January and April the percentage of the global fleet unavailable due to delays fell from 13.8% to 10.5%.

China's strict lockdown in Shanghai is heaping even more pressure on global supply chains. The Port of Shanghai had already been suffering from major holdups, and the extension may worsen congestion and increase transportation costs further, experts said. 

Global land, sea and air transport lobbies have castigated world leaders for imposing travel bans in the wake of a new Covid-19 variant in what could boost Africa’s argument against restrictions. 

 Businesses that have been ordering goods earlier and in larger volumes to guard against shortages are on a knife’s edge, balancing between the possibility of lost sales and the risk of getting stuck with excess or outdated inventory. 

Supply chain chaos will likely persist through to the middle of next year, according to Jim Snabe, chairman of German conglomerate Siemens and Danish shipping firm Maersk. 

Ocean freight rates, which have pummeled retailers and manufacturers throughout 2021, may take more than two years to return to normal levels if past market cycles are any guide.

 One of Ningbo’s container terminals has closed due to a positive Covid test, sparking fears of a Yantian-style nightmare for cargo owners. 

The trading world is seemingly awash in boxes, but companies say finding available containers is harder than ever.

Businesses and consumers are bracing for another shipping crisis, as a virus outbreak in southern China disrupts port services and delays deliveries, threatening to drive up costs again. 

The UK Government announced last year that up to 10 new Freeports would be opened across the UK to boost trade, innovation, commerce, employment and investment in order to help drive the UK’s post‑Brexit growth.  

The logistics industry has been scrambling to adapt to the immense pressures exerted by the pandemic-induced upsurge in demand for medical supplies, e-commerce shipments and, most recently, vaccines, as well as the disruption caused by industrial shutdowns and travel restrictions. 

The blockage in the Suez Canal will further increase global shipping prices but will have a marginal effect on Canadian consumers, aside from potential delays for certain shipments, experts say. 

According to a blanked sailing database produced by maritime intelligence company eeSea, carriers have cancelled only 1.7% of February head haul sailings on the Far East to North America, Far East to Europe, and Europe to North America routes, the three most active container trades worldwide. 

Find out the latest developments of the global ocean freight market in this monthly analysis by DHL Global Forwarding. 

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released January 2021 data for global air cargo markets  showing that air cargo demand returned to pre-COVID levels (January 2019) for the first time since the onset of the crisis. 

Maersk speeds up on decarbonisation with a methanol-fueled feeder vessel on the water in 2023, piloting a scalable carbon neutral product to customers and offering fuel suppliers incentive to scale production of the fuels of the future. 

 As supply chain operators contemplate their post-pandemic future, many are seeing uncertainty as the new normal. This is changing how they view automation. 

The pandemic has disrupted the global economy and supply chains.  Ninety-one percent of surveyed executives acknowledge that forecasting in 2021 needs to look different. 

Many logistics companies have implemented relatively sophisticated forecasting processes and models.  

Truck crossings from the U.S. to Canada reached a pre-COVID-19 level last week, suggesting that the cross-border freight recovery didn’t miss a beat during two national holidays and the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade.

Now the entire freight transportation industry, across air, ocean, road, and rail sectors, is awash with disrupted expectations and has retreated into survival mode.  Here are some insights into how the Coronavirus crisis is accelerating or reversing the industry trends. 

The UPS board of directors today named Carol Tomé as UPS chief executive, effective from June 1, to replace David Abney.

AI is being applied to processes such as transportation routing decisions and freight matching, sometimes within supply chain control towers.