While The House of Representatives passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act this week, to overhaul regulation of the container shipping industry, its focus on detention and demurrage billing and the container lines’ responsibility to load exports, will have little impact on import congestion, or record sea freight rates. Carriers may leave India even as GRI’s …
Global sea freight operations have struggled with disruptions since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic over two years ago, and this has continued into 2022, with a peak shipping season this summer that is likely to be very chaotic. China’s zero-COVID strategy lockdowns have slowed supply chains and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has effectively ripped …
As COVID lockdown measures are gradually relaxed in Shanghai it is uncertain how quickly export sea freight volumes will rebound, but many experts are anticipating a strong and sustained spike in demand creating a backlog of shipping containers, which could once again result in ocean shipments diverting and putting pressure on air freight, which is already experiencing reduced …
Container volumes at eight of China’s top ports surged 25% to 16.8 million TEU in April, largely driven by consumers in Europe and the US, but manufacturers are anticipating weakening demand. According to figures released by China’s Transport Ministry, only Shanghai recorded a decline in sea freight throughput in April, the first full month of the city-wide …
While there has rightly been much focus on driver shortages and spiking fuel costs, it is a shortage of engine oil and lubricants that is currently the biggest threat to the road transport of freight. Road transport is an inherent component in almost every freight movement and the critical collection/delivery method for logistics operations and …
The demand for lithium-ion batteries is developing at a rapid pace, as virtually every type of Electric Vehicle (EV) overtake diesel units in the new car market, but their presence on ships and planes are a concern for insurers. While the UK new car market declined 15.8% in April, battery electric car registrations were up 40.9%, with plug-in cars anticipated …
Shanghai is aiming to reopen the city and business operations, with normal life resuming from the 1st June, as all 16 city districts report acceptably reduced ‘zero-COVID’ cases. At a press briefing on Monday, Shanghai’s Vice Mayor announced that 15 of Shanghai’s 16 districts had recorded no new COVID-19 infections for two consecutive days, with all of the city’s …
A members survey by freight trade association, Logistics UK, found that 40% of respondents had experienced transport costs rising by 25% or more and with margins typically very low, particularly for road freight, many will not be able to absorb these increased costs. In the survey 71% reported an escalation in the cost of transporting goods …
Strict border controls amid China’s zero-COVID policy is creating a shortage of foreign expertise, with some suggesting the development could become a permanent feature, with ramifications for supply chains and an accelerating factor for consideration of production moving to alternative origins. China’s foreign national population has plummeted during the COVID pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of expats returning home since 2020 …
As the country prepares to celebrate the Queen’s record-breaking reign, with an extended bank holiday, we consider the potential penalty traps waiting to catch out the unwary shipper during the break and how you can avoid demurrage, detention and port charges. Shipping lines and ports levy time-based charges, to encourage swift return of containers and to penalise …