Newsletter – March 12, 2020

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Cargo escapes US ban on travel from Europe

aircargonews.net

The White House has clarified that cargo is not included in the US ban on travel from Europe announced as part of efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Tanker rates spike as Saudis pull trigger on oil price war

freightwaves.com

Saudi Arabia was not bluffing when it said it would focus on crude-oil market share. New tanker charter contracts at extremely high rates confirm that a large wave of Saudi oil is definitely en route.

Rates for VLCCs (very large crude carriers; tankers that carry 2 million barrels of crude oil) spiked to nearly $200,000 per day in October 2019, propelled by a confluence of events ranging from security threats to U.S. sanctions on Chinese tankers. Read more here.

New ex-China blank sailings ‘tapering off’

lloydsloadinglist.com

The weekly measurement of ocean carriers’ blank sailings out of China show that the coronavirus impact is now “subsiding rapidly,”according to container shipping consultancy Sea-Intelligence in its latest weekly review of the market. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trends in Last-Mile for 2020

supplychainbrief.com

Take a moment to think about the state of last-mile logistics in the last year. An argument does exist for the continued support of last-mile innovation and a relentless push to build better customer experiences within the final mile. Read more here.

Canada to be short 25,000 truck drivers by 2023: report

canadianshipper.com

Toronto, ON — Canada is expected to be short 25,000 truck drivers as early as 2023, representing a 25% increase over the unfilled vacancies in 2019, Trucking HR Canada reports.

Unfilled jobs in 2018 are also estimated to have cost the trucking industry about $3.1 billion in lost revenues, slowing planned expansions by 4.7%. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Trump’s ban on travel from Europe poses questions for Canada U.S. border

canadianshipper.com

Washington, DC — U.S. President Donald Trump is slamming America’s door on most foreign nationals who were recently in Europe — a drastic step in response to an accelerating global pandemic that, should it proceed, could pose a serious threat to commerce and travel between Canada and its largest trading partner. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

ISM says US firms are seeing widespread supply disruption on virus

ajot.com

Nearly 75% of U.S. companies have experienced supply chain disruptions because of virus-related transportation restrictions, according to an Institute for Supply Management survey that adds to signs of growing strain in global economic linkages as the outbreak upends activity worldwide. Read more here.

Global spread of virus means China’s factories will get hit again

japantimes.co.jp

Just as China’s factories get back on their feet after being laid low by the coronavirus, a drop in demand from their biggest trading partners around the world is coming back to give them another hit.

Manufacturing firms across China say they are close to being able to resume full production as domestic infections slow to a trickle but are now facing canceled orders and fewer opportunities to gain new customers as the virus grips elsewhere. Read more here.