5G rollout disrupts flights into US from across the world
Airlines around the world are adjusting their schedules and aircraft deployments for flights to the U.S. over fears that a 5G rollout by AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. near American airports could interfere with key safety systems.
Dubai’s Emirates said it will suspend flights to several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Newark and San Francisco, while Japan Airlines Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. said they won’t fly their 777 jets to and from the U.S. mainland after a warning from Boeing Co. about how the model’s altimeter will be affected.
British Airways cancelled a handful of services to the U.S. on Wednesday, and has also made some aircraft substitutions, a spokeswoman for the carrier said. The U.K. airline was using Airbus SE A350 and Boeing 787 jets to operate some flights usually flown by 777s, according to tracking website FlightRadar24. Singapore Airlines Ltd. will also substitute 777s for A350s, the carrier said in a statement.
AJOT
LA looters raid unattended containers amid supply chain chaos
As many Americans worry about empty shelves and delayed packages, looters are taking advantage of the inflow of goods outside of the two southern California ports that are responsible for handling almost half of all U.S. imports.
In Lincoln Heights, a densely populated neighborhood in central Los Angeles that is home to terminals belonging to Union Pacific Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., looters are breaking into cargo containers to steal delivery packages, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Supply Chain Brain
Truckers fret over pending Covid-19 vaccine rules at U.S.-Canada border
Trucking companies and manufacturers say new Covid-19 vaccine mandates set to take effect at the U.S.-Canada border could upend an already fragile logistics network.
The two countries have allowed trade to cross their border unimpeded since the start of the pandemic. Tourist entry at the land border was prohibited until late last year. But in November, both the U.S. and Canada said they would require truck drivers to be vaccinated in order to enter their respective countries.
Wall Street Journal
How China’s zero-Covid policies are disrupting cross-border trade
China’s zero-Covid policies are putting Chinese cities into lockdown and grounding air travel anew. They are also disrupting trade routes across its land borders that are lifelines for the region’s farmers and merchants.
In neighboring Vietnam, thousands of trucks laden with dragon fruit, jackfruit, watermelons and other produce have been backed up at the border awaiting passage for weeks. Their trips were disrupted after Chinese authorities toward the end of last year suspended operations at a number of gates or slowed traffic citing a need to contain Covid-19.
With fruit rotting, some traders cut their losses. Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Thao, who exports exclusively to China, sold five truckloads of dragon fruit domestically at one-tenth the price they would have fetched on the other side of the border. The businesswoman redirected three trucks to a sea port, paying more to rush the perishable cargo to Shanghai. “Selling domestically was like dumping it,” she said.
Wall Street Journal
ReCAAP ISC finds 3 major concerns in Asian water in 2021: Singapore situation alarming
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Security Center (ISC) has found three areas of concern in Asian water in 2021, including six-year higher incidents in Singapore Strait.
The body found violence of perpetrators in incidents at Manila Anchorage areas, the Philippines, and threat of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas as other top concerns.
Out of 82 robbery incidents in 2021 in the entire Asian water, 49 took place in Singapore Strait raising a heightened alarm.
Container News
The big challenges for supply chains in 2022
In the run-up to Christmas, there was considerable anxiety about shortages of festive food and gifts. Trade friction was already at the core of the Brexit debate, and supply chain issues have been made much worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, a computer chip shortage had a knock-on effect across many industries. Concerns have also been raised about everything from lithium supply for electric vehicle batteries to restaurant food supplies to even coffee shortages.
Never has the issue of supply chain management been so prominent. The question now is what challenges supply chains face in the year ahead. So what can we expect?
Marine Link
Coming to an ocean near you: ships dragged along by giant kites
Add ships being dragged along by giant kites to the list of things the industry is exploring in its quest to decarbonize.
The Ville de Bordeaux, a 154-meter-long ship that moves aircraft components for Airbus SE, is testing this month a 500 square meter kite on journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. It will undergo six months of trials before full deployment.
While the industry has come up with multiple decarbonization initiatives, it is struggling to keep pace with goals set out under the Paris Agreement on climate. There’s also pressure on shipping lines from large customers who are pressing to make their own supply chains less polluting.
The kite is called Seawing. Its developer, Airseas, estimates that an even larger 1,000 square-meter parafoil, flying at an altitude of 300 meters, will cut fuel consumption and emissions from vessels by about 20%.
Supply Chain Brain
