News
Logistics Recap August 13th – August 19th
Logistics Recap
August 13th – August 19th
Wind and water freight could make the industry more sustainable
A reversion to wind power for oceangoing vessels, at least as an assist, has been championed for decades, and could certainly help. But there are other plans afoot, and favoring waterborne over road is the way forward for the freight industry in general, according to Andrew Willner, executive director at The Center for Post Carbon Logistics.
Ships Could Take Freight Off the Roads
The new, sustainable version of “intermodal” could mean combining road and rail with coastal and inland water whenever possible. Willner even envisions the emergence of a new class of freight service provider, a low-carbon third-party logistics provider, or LC3PL.
Read More Here Supply Chain Brain
Cargo-centric aiports outperform pure passenger traffic
Airports specializing in air cargo shipments have outperformed hybrid airports that also cater to passenger traffic during the current shipping slump, researchers at DePaul University said in a study released on Thursday.
Cargo-oriented airports have increasingly attracted cargo airlines and logistics companies because of their operational flexibility, reduced air and road congestion, available land for terminals to support dedicated freighters, lower fees, and faster customs clearance.
Shippers turned to alternative carriers amidst UPS strike worries
Shippers added more carriers to their delivery mix in June and July as many prepared to mitigate disruptions from a potential UPS strike, according to project44 data released this month.
The average number of last-mile carriers per company account reached 6.17 in June, the highest project44 has recorded in a given month. That number remained nearly the same in July at 6.14 carriers per account.
Logistics Portal August 6th – August 12th
Logistics Recap
August 6th – August 12th
Hawai’i wildfires spark efforts for emergency supplies
Carriers are prioritizing relief shipments to Maui after winds from Hurricane Dora helped fuel a wildfire that devastated the town of Lāhainā this week.
The Port of Kahului is fully operational, and interisland freight and transport company Young Brothers noted in an Aug. 9 operations update that it is focusing its efforts on the loading and discharge of medical supplies and emergency vehicles to the port over the next few sailings.
Read More Here Supply Chain Dive
Yellow’s assets gain more attention amid bankruptcy
An attorney representing now-defunct Yellow Corp. said there has been new interest from parties willing to provide the company with bankruptcy financing.
At a Friday hearing in a Delaware court, Yellow (NASDAQ: YELL) attorney Pat Nash said there had been “a number of inbounds from other parties” willing to provide the debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing needed to fund the marketing and sale of the company’s assets. One of those parties has retained counsel.
Geopolitical tensions: 35% of U.K. importers forced to reexamine supply chains
Over a third of U.K. importers (35%) said they have felt the impact of growing geopolitical tensions, particularly in China, forcing them to reexamine their supply chains, according to a recent survey.
Based on a report released by the Institute of Directors (IoD), entitled “Reorienting: The Impact of Geopolitics on Business Supply Chains,” one in five importers from outside the U.K. have had to change their supply chains due to geopolitical tensions while another 15% are considering supply chain alterations. An additional 6.6% of importers said they’re not sure if their supply chains have been influenced by geopolitical pressures.
Read More Here Supply Chain Brain
Container import volumes for August expected to grow
United States-bound container import volumes are expected to come in at the highest level in almost a year, according to the Port Tracker report, which was issued this week by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.
The ports surveyed in the report include: Los Angeles/Long Beach; Oakland; Tacoma; Seattle; Houston; New York/New Jersey; Hampton Roads; Charleston, and Savannah; Miami; Jacksonville; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Port Everglades.
Logistics Recap July 30th – August 5th
Logistics Recap
July 30th – August 5th
Trans-Pacific spot rates surpass contract rates
Annual trans-Pacific contract rates reset to sharply lower levels in May. Even so, multiple ocean carrier execs insisted on conference calls that they did not sign annual contracts at levels that locked in a year’s worth of losses.
Now, according to data from Xeneta, average trans-Pacific spot rates have just edged above average contract rates. If carrier execs are telling the truth about not signing loss-making contracts, and if spot rates are at or above contract levels, it implies a more sustainable market for shipping lines.
Yellow Corp.’s shutdown may lead to LTL costs
Yellow Corp.’s shutdown has left shippers without a major player in the less-than-truckload space — a development that means higher costs are likely in store, according to trucking industry analysts.
“There’s probably going to be an increase in the pricing charged to the shipper,” said Craig Decker, who leads investment banking activities across supply chain, logistics and transportation areas at Brown Gibbons Lang & Co.
Read More Here Supply Chain Dive
Global grain prices increasse following attack on Unkraine’s Port of Izmail
Global grain prices increased after Russia attacked Ukraine’s Port of Izmail across the Danube River from Romania August 2.
The attacks destroyed multiple buildings and stopped ships from docking in the port, preventing Ukrainian grain being shipped down the Danube River and out through the Black Sea. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the drone strikes damaged roughly 40,000 tons of grain that were destined for China, Africa and Israel — approximately one shipload. The disruption to shipping, however, is significant.