Newsletter – August 15, 2018

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Hong Kong cargo static in July but transhipments soar

source: aircargonews.net

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw July’s cargo and airmail throughputs static versus the same month last year at 433,000 tonnes, although volumes are up 3.1% for the first seven months of 2018 at 2.9m tonnes. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Ripples from US-China trade spat begin to rock trade flows

source: theloadstar.co.uk

The angry rhetoric between China and the US and their tit-for-tat imposition of tariffs on a rising number of goods are showing early effects on trade flows. Read more here (login required).

Scrapping makes a comeback as smaller containerships lose their appeal

source: seanews.com.tr

OWNERS of older and smaller ships are likely to renew their interest in scrapping as the charter market makes an unexpected U-turn, says London’s Loadstar.

Indeed, the dramatic recovery in panamax rates seems to have come to an abrupt end, with charter party daily hire for recent fixtures coming down US$1,000 to $12,500 in the past month, said the report. Read more here.

HMM stays bullish as it sinks deeper into the red, and vows it can cut costs

source: theloadstar.co.uk

HMM recorded a net loss of $215m in the second quarter, taking the South Korean ocean carrier’s deficit to a massive $371m at the half-year stage.

The restructured container line increased liftings by 17%, year on year, in Q2, to 1.15m teu, which it attributed to its “sales expansion efforts” including the launch of its standalone Asia-North Europe loop and larger tonnage on the Asia-South America tradelane. Read more here (login required)

Modern Terminals tests blockchain for transmitting its supply documents

source: transportweekly.com

Modern Terminals Limited in Hong Kong is participating in the trial of TradeLens, a blockchain solution jointly developed for the global shipping industry by AP Moller-Maersk and IBM.

TradeLens is designed to digitise and streamline processes in the global supply chain that will lower cost and boost security. Read more here.