Category: Supply Chain

The cancellation of multiple October sailings from Asia to Europe is an attempt by the carriers to push capacity down and raise rates, but if they fail, they may not have another opportunity to significantly raise prices before Chinese New Year, next February.  Container shipping lines ac... Read more

Unpredictable weather patterns and drought for most of 2023 have driven the Panama Canal Authority to impose numerous draft restrictions, reducing vessel transit numbers, and cutting vessel booking slots for lock usage, due to low water levels. The Panama Canal consists of the man-made lakes o... Read more

The rapidity of the collapse in air and sea freight rates has given carriers the same level of trauma and shock experienced by shippers when freight rates exploded in  2021 and while the turnabout in the market was anticipated, its intensity and extent is far greater than expected, with ship... Read more

The pandemic laid bare the critical importance of supply chains and executives tasked with managing them are much more significant figures in their businesses, as continuing success is highly dependent on improving supply chains. For too many businesses the gap between supply chain planning, a... Read more

In a sign of the growing strategic significance of supply chain management for carmakers, two major manufacturers have appointed chief supply chain officers (CSCO) this month. Their appointments come after the industry has battled disruption to production and supply chains, shortages in semicondu... Read more

For many importers, the underlying problem that prevented them from pivoting their supply chain as the pandemic’s impact became more pervasive was lack of visibility and control upstream.  The food supply chain has stabilised since the pandemic, but new macro events continue to create d... Read more

Last year the shipping analyst Drewry’s forecast that the container shipping lines earnings would be down 64% for 2023, but added that there were strategic choices available to the carriers, to protect their revenues, with slow steaming a proven method of removing capacity, to protect rates and... Read more

The port of Nhava Sheva, is the second largest container port in India and repairs and replacement of gantry cranes are reducing terminal capacity by 50%, which is expected to possibly last until October or November. Container traffic through India's Nhava Sheva Port (JNPT) is facing bottlenec... Read more

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply’s (CIPS) Procurement Futures conference brought together the most influential procurement professionals to figure out how to make supply chains more resilient, as buyers consider returning to just-in-time strategies, as port congestion eases. ... Read more

Negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and West Coast port employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) began last May and while talks continue, both are hopeful of reaching a deal soon, as US importers continue to divert cargo to Eastern a... Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the public gaze towards supply chains and a previously unrecognised business sector became a household name, but after two plus years of navigating monumental challenges, supply chain executives, are faced with more challenges and need to secure their supply chains be... Read more

The sidewalk booths, where residents took compulsory COVID tests almost daily, have gone and queues are again forming outside restaurants, while face masks, which were omnipresent for nearly three years, have almost disappeared, but some challenges remain. China’s Centre for Disease Control ... Read more