Countries should lift restrictions on air cargo operations in a bid to improve supply chain connectivity, according to ICAO.
In a series of recommendations announced on Friday, following council approval, ICAO is pushing for wider adoption of seventh freedom traffic rights for cargo operators.
The organisation’s recommendation 16 states: “Member states are encouraged to consider the temporary lifting of restrictions to air cargo operations, including, but not limited to, granting extra-bilateral rights, in particular for all-cargo services, to foreign airlines to facilitate the transportation of essential goods, supplies and Covid-19 vaccines.”
Source: The Loadstar
The ports of Southern California are making headway in reducing the congestion in container shipping. Despite the continued rush of imports from Asia to the U.S. West Coast ports, a better equilibrium in port operations is having a positive effect on the carriers and other ports.
Data from the Marine Exchange of Southern California, which oversees vessel traffic for the San Pedro port complex, shows steady progress reducing the number of vessels both in the ports and the anchorage. Currently, they are reporting that there are 90 ships in port, which is down from the 110 level experienced at the end of January 2021. The number of ships in port declined by eight on Saturday, March 13. On March 15, it was down to 89 ships in port, the lowest since December 25, 2020.
Source: The Maritime Executive
The response by shipping lines to booming demand and the congestion crisis has triggered a “vicious cycle” of yard logjams at ports around the world.
According to Drewry, while agile shipping lines have been able to swiftly add capacity on the fastest-growing tradelanes, the container terminals and landside operators have struggled to keep up.
Eleanor Hadland, senior analyst for ports and terminals, explained: “The assets of the landside elements of the supply chain are geographically fixed, and it takes a long time to procure equipment or to recruit and train additional labour.
Source: The Loadstar
The U.K. government said it will delay imposing post-Brexit checks on imports coming from the European Union in a bid to avert disruption to supplies this summer.
The U.K. won’t require firms to file customs declarations immediately for any imports from the EU until Jan. 1, 2022, instead of July 1 this year, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said in a written statement to Parliament. Border inspections of food products will also be delayed.
“We have listened to businesses who have made a strong case that they need more time to prepare,” Gove said. “We have given strong weight to the disruption which has been caused, and is still being caused, by Covid.”
Source: SupplyChainBrain, Bloomberg
The global supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 have led to a major increase in the number of organisations using technology to assist with supply chain management and mapping, including a near doubling in the use of tech-based supply mapping, along with much more engagement among senior management with supply chain issues.
According to the 12th annual BCI Supply Chain Resilience report from the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), more than half (55.6%) of organizations are now using technology to help analyse and report on supply chain disruptions, with the number using technology to help with supply chain mapping seeing a major increase to
40.5% – up from just 22.6% in 2019.
Source: Lloyd´s Loading List
The spate of boxships ordered over the past six months is seeing radical shifts in the global liner rankings. When including their orderbooks, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) is now on track to overhaul Maersk as the world’s largest liner, while France’s CMA CGM is on schedule to reclaim third spot from China’s Cosco.
MSC became the world’s second largest carrier in 2004, and since then, it and Maersk have continued to top the global ranking table compiled by Alphaliner, something Maersk has topped for more than a quarter of a century.
Source: Splash 24/7
Emirates SkyCargo operated its first passenger freighter flight a year-ago today.
The Dubai-hubbed carrier said that on March 16 2020, a Boeing B777-300ER passenger aircraft took off from Dubai and flew to Kuwait carrying only 34 tonnes of cargo.
It was the first time that Emirates had operated a cargo only flight on a passenger aircraft and came just four days after Covid-19 had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Source: Air Cargo News
Shippers are bracing themselves for a fresh onslaught of freight rate hikes and peak season surcharges (PSS) from April, as ocean carriers reinforce their supply chain dominance across tradelanes.
Carriers have begun to focus on the traditionally low-revenue backhaul routes in order to restore rates to levels that will incentivise them to make equipment available for cargo shipments, rather than using the default option of deadheading empty containers back to Asia.
Source: The Loadstar
