Port of Los Angeles going 24/7 to help relieve U.S. supply chain backup, White House says
White House officials say they helped broker an agreement for the Port of Los Angeles to become a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation, part of an effort to relieve supply chain bottlenecks and move stranded container ships that are argued that higher inflation is temporary for U.S. consumers.
President Joe Biden planned to discuss the agreement during a speech Wednesday afternoon about supply chain issues that have hampered the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, account for 40% of all shipping containers entering the U.S.
CBS News
Supply chain chaos to bolster carrier finances through 2022
Supply chain disruption could last until the end of next year, keeping freight rates at elevated levels for longer than expected and boosting container line profitability.
Analysts at Drewry said the longer-than-anticipated period of disruption had led it to upgrade its outlook for global freight rates.
“Stronger than expected spot rate movement in the third quarter and a longer supply chain recovery timeline are behind our reason to upgrade the outlook for average global freight rates (spot and contract) for 2021 to 126%, which is an upward adjustment from 47% in our June forecast,” it said. “For 2022, spot rates are expected to decline, but there will be a significant increase in contract pricing, leading to an increase in average global pricing of about 6%.”
Lloyd´s Loading List
India does a turnaround on trade spurred by post-Covid economic reality
India is racing to wrap up a clutch of quick-fire bilateral trade pacts by the end of March, officials said, as economic necessity spurs a shift from New Delhi’s usual go-slow approach on trade deals.
The shift also means that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is prioritizing “early harvest” pacts over comprehensive free trade agreements with partners, a move that’s leaving some countries perplexed, officials said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.
Modi’s office is pushing ministries, particularly foreign and commerce, to deliver on initial deals with countries including Australia and the U.K., several officials said. That’s even as India walked away from Asia’s biggest multilateral agreement in 2019 and has shown little interest so far in a Trans-Pacific pact.
AJOT, Bloomberg
'Canada's supply chain is at risk' warning, as congestion hits port of Vancouver
The brakes have been applied hard on traffic flows at the port of Vancouver.
In a matter of weeks, Canada’s premier ocean gateway has gone from a relatively fluid situation to serious congestion that has raised alarms that retailers could miss out in the peak shopping season.
In the summer, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) tabled record results for the first half of 2021, with overall throughput rising 7% over H1 20 and the container count going up 24% to 1.9m teu. Cargo was flowing with only minor disruption, raising hopes it could accommodate traffic from shippers looking to avoid the logjam at US west coast ports.
The Loadstar
A $1.7 trillion financing gap is making supply shortages worse
The global trade finance gap rose 15% to $1.7 trillion in 2020 as Covid-19 sent shock waves through trade and supply chains, according to a survey conducted by the Asian Development Bank.
The shortfall in trade finance, which is critical for greasing the flow of imports and exports, threatens a global recovery that consumption and manufacturing gauges already warn may be cooling. Almost one-third of firms in the ADB survey, released Tuesday, flagged lack of access to finance as a major barrier over the next year.
“This study raises alarm bells that there are not only persistent market gaps for trade finance, those gaps are growing,” Steven Beck, head of trade finance at the ADB, said in an interview.
AJOT, Bloomberg
Barge operators claim Rotterdam to blame as delays on waterways increase
Congestion across Rotterdam’s inland waterways continues to worsen, amid claims that the situation “deteriorating” by the day, due to the port’s management.
With Contargo again reporting escalating wait times on the Dutch waterway, now at 124 hours, following a brief dip from 163 hours to 121 hours, sources said the input from port operator Hutchison Port Holdings was compounding problems for Northern Europe’s inland navigation.
The Loadstar
IATA: Industry cooperation key to post-pandemic air cargo resilience
IATA has urged the air cargo industry to continue working together at the same pace and with the same levels of cooperation as during the COVID-19 pandemic so as to overcome future challenges and build industry resilience.
Sustainability, modernization, and safety were highlighted as key priorities for the industry post pandemic. The call was made at the 14th World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Dublin.
Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo, told the WCS audience: “Air cargo is a critically important industry. This pandemic reminded us of that.
AirCargo News
COSCO launches express alternatives to US West Coast
COSCO Shipping Lines (COSCON) is launching Transpacific BCO Express Line this week, comprising the Prince Rupert express line (CEN-EXPRESS) and the Los Angeles express line (CEN-PLUS)
Using five 4,250TEU ships, CEN-EXPRESS will move containers from Qingdao and Shanghai to Prince Rupert while CEN-PLUS, assigned six 10,000TEU vessels, will call at Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
Under CEN-EXPRESS, shippers can have their goods railed from DP World’s terminal in Prince Rupert port, via the Canadian National Railway, to Chicago.
Container News
Code of conduct to safeguard seafarer rights and welfare launches
With an urgent need to tackle the systemic challenges creating human rights and welfare risks for the world’s nearly 2m seafarers, a landmark code of conduct and self-assessment tool have been launched. The initiative aims to support a safe, healthy and secure onboard work environment and goes beyond the so-called seafarer bill of rights ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) to focus on the full spectrum of seafarers’ rights and wellbeing, from fair terms of employment and minimum crewing levels to the management of grievance mechanisms.
Based on international labour and human rights standards and principles, the code of conduct and self-assessment were created over eight months of consultation and collaboration with shipowners, operators, charterers, cargo owners, seafarers’ associations, civil society and others.
Splash 24/7
MSC to collaborate with China on decarbonization
MSC and the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute, part of China’s transport ministry, have signed an agreement to jointly promote decarbonisation and sustainable development of the shipping industry.
This is the first time the Geneva-based company is partnering with a major institution in China to explore the technical pathway for decarbonisation.
The partners hope that the three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will leverage on their strengths to explore innovative ways to jointly cooperate on relevant research and activities, and discuss progress to find the range of solutions that will make maritime transportation even more efficient while continuing to serve as the backbone of global trade.
Container Management
