Newsletter – February 21, 2024

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Lufthansa operations to resume as airport staff strike ends
new.yahoo.com
Operations at Germany’s largest airline were expected to normalize on Wednesday after this month’s second wave of strikes by Lufthansa employees came to an end.
“Lufthansa plans to gradually resume flight operations in Frankfurt and Munich after the end of the Verdi strike on Wednesday morning,” said a company spokesman. Read more here.

Airfreight rates slide in line with Lunar New Year holiday demand decline
aircargonews.net
Airfreight rates began their Lunar New Year holiday decline last week after rising in the first six weeks of the year.
The latest figures from TAC Index show that last week overall airfreight rates slipped by 8.2% compared with the week before and are down 21.2% from a year ago. Read more here.

Bangkok handler BFS lifts its import cargo embargo
aircargonews.net
Handler Bangkok Flight Services (BFS) has cut short its embargo on import goods after it managed to clear a backlog caused by a surge in volumes.
The Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport handler had been planning to run the embargo between midnight on Monday February 12 and the same time on Sunday February 18 but lifted the measure today. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Carriers still desperate for tonnage to guarantee emergency schedules
theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers are struggling to maintain weekly sailings from Asia to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope routing, despite the delivery of some 425,000 teu of newbuild capacity this year.
According to an analysis by Alphaliner, the extended voyages are proving a challenge for carriers endeavouring to keep to revised proforma schedules. Read more here (login required).

CMA CGM box ship braves Red Sea danger, with French naval escort
theloadstar.com
Despite vowing to re-route vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, CMA CGM yesterday sent an ultra-large containership through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The French carrier’s Jules Verne was escorted by the French navy and reported no attacks. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL REIGHT UPDATES

Canada’s Two Major Railways Could See Strike in May: Teamsters
trucknews.com
Tensions between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union and railways Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are ramping up after the December 31, 2023 expiration of three major collective agreements.
About 9,300 workers at the railways are covered by the agreements. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Warehousing Costs Continue to Climb, Study Finds
insidelogistics.ca
Warehouse costs have been rising steadily since the beginning of 2022 across North America, Europe and Northeast Asia.
Ti (Transport Intelligence) has formulated its warehouse cost index, which tracks overall warehousing costs in North America, Europe and North-East Asia. The index takes inputs from warehousing rent, labour and energy costs to determine the current state of overall warehousing costs, as well as estimate the future direction of costs. Read more here.

The Longer You Delay Digital Transformation, the Further You Fall Behind: Report
theloadstar.com
Supply chain stakeholders are increasingly integrating digitalization, which is paramount to “staying ahead of the curve,” according to a report by Economist Impact, supported by Maersk, based on insights collected from senior executives working in supply chain management.
This report identified the short-term challenges, long-term benefits and practical solutions for supply chain digitalization.
It acknowledged: “Developing digital capabilities to meet growing consumer demand is both expensive and disruptive.” Read more here (login requierd).