Newsletter – October 21, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Anger as Cathay Pacific Cargo adds GRI to blocked space agreements

theloadstar.com
Cathay Pacific has added extra fees to some of its blocked space agreements, the first publicly known contract casualty of the air peak season.
The carrier sent notices to customers informing them that a general rate increase (GRI) of HK$18/ kg (US$2.31) would be added to the base rate for all transpacific routes from midnight on 15 November for all flights departing Hong Kong, “until the end of the contractual period”. Read more here.

IATA adds ‘quote and book’ service to rate portal

aircargonews.net
Airline association IATA has added a ‘quote and book’ function to its rate portal, with IAG Cargo the first cargo group to offer the new functionality.
The addition of live rates and the option to book shipments onto IATA’s Net Rates platform will accelerate “the distribution of rates to market while simplifying and reducing the cost of rate handling procedures”. Read more here.

Strong peak season volume increases at HKIA tempered by Covid delays

theloadstar.com
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and Cathay Pacific Cargo have both reported strong September volumes, but a recent Covid case slowed the hub’s handling operations.
HKIA said imports and exports had both increased by double figures, with total throughput up 17.9% year on year, to 455,000 tonnes. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

North America Operational Updates

hapag-lloyd.com
Terminal Operations:
LAX/LGB Terminal Update:
There are currently 50 (-1) container ships at anchor or drifting awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday Oct 15th. Ships are waiting average 9-12 days to catch a berth. Both ports are seeing record volumes month after month that challenge the existing port infrastructure. Port volumes are up more than 30% so far this calendar year. Port Delays forcing ships to wait at anchor are expected to continue for the remainder of the year. Read more here.

Chittagong cracks down on dangerous goods left at cramped port yards

theloadstar.com
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has demanded that importers remove dangerous containers and cargo (DG) within 72 hours of its arrival in port yards.
The timeframe, which includes holidays and weekends, is a bid to reduce pressure on the yards, where nearly 40,000 teu are currently stacked in a total storage capacity of 49,000 teu. Read more here (login required.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucking costs rise as US freight traffic grows – but the momentum is slowing

theloadstar.com
US freight traffic continued to grow in the third quarter, but it is losing momentum, according to the US Bank Freight Payment Index.
However, the reduced pace of growth has not slowed the rise in freight spend, reflecting ongoing capacity challenges. Read more here (login required)