News & Insights

Our alerts, news and guides embrace all transport modes and explore global developments across all aspects of the supply chain, to keep you informed and guide decision making.

Emergency powers to build Brexit lorry parks

Up to a further 29 lorry parks, from Devon and Somerset to Warwickshire and Suffolk, will be built in order to cope with border trading chaos after Brexit, under emergency government powers, which will take no notice of local objections. The move was revealed after the leak of a government doc... Read more

Some UK freight forwarders unprepared for Brexit

In a survey by the freight forwarders trade association, BIFA, 64% of respondents felt they would not be ready to undertake the additional Customs-related work that will be required from January 1st 2021. Following a survey of its members, the British International Freight Association (BIFA) r... Read more

Air freight peak season surge

With passenger flights significantly and severely reduced on most trade lanes, scarcity of air cargo space is ongoing, spot prices are entirely unpredictable and the market, in constant flux, is preparing for a major peak season from Asia. Data from aviation analyst Cirium shows that 3,762 wid... Read more

The Brexit Politics Round-up

The UK Internal Market Bill is a very provocative piece of legislation, proposed by the UK Government that, on paper at least, signifies the UK’s intent to leave the EU with no deal. The bill cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Here are the reasons why the UK Interna... Read more

Significant disruption at UK largest container port

The ongoing impact of Coronavirus on the workforce and terminal operating practices at Felixstowe has reduced productivity which, with unexpected demand spikes, has resulted in high yard density impeding operations and prompted drastic action from port management.  To clear backlogs and e... Read more

Metro’s supply chain excellence recognised

Publisher and Events organiser, Akabo Media, is one of the most influential voices in supply chain, freight and logistics. Its annual Supply Chain Excellence awards uniquely feature clients and service providers, to emphasise the value and innovation delivered across the sector. Despite the ch... Read more

Business not ready for Brexit survey finds

Two-thirds of UK businesses have had their Brexit preparations disrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, and only 25% are confident they will cope with the additional administration, according to a survey of supply chain managers by Descartes. Two-thirds of large firms (with >1000 employees) are ... Read more

Container shortages in China

Port operations have been severely diminished and inland distribution massively disrupted by the coronavirus, lockdowns and safe-working practices, which delay the unloading of containers and repositioning of equipment back to China. As European importers struggle to return empty containers to... Read more

The perfect storm threatening container haulage

The perfect storm threatening container haulage  There is not an industry sector that has not been impacted to some extent by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even those deemed ‘essential’ have had to battle unprecedented economic and operational challenges, but few have felt the impact quite a... Read more

Get ready for Brexit

The border processes and way the UK trades with Europe is going to change significantly as we exit the EU transition period on the 31st December 2020, which is why we have developed an unprecedented web resource to get you ready for Brexit. Understanding how your business will be impacted... Read more

40% of firms find better post-COVID suppliers

In a recent survey, reported by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), 41% of firms said that they have found “new and better” suppliers to work with as a direct result of coronavirus. The survey also found that 57% found the outbreak an “incentive” to ma... Read more

The joined up supply chain

The supply chain is a complex system of interrelated parts which need to be monitored continuously to avoid problems and keep it running effectively. True supply chain visibility requires the ability to see the whole supply chain at all times in order to solve problems as they arise, as incomp... Read more