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GBRf launches link from Felixstowe to Doncaster


OVERLAND GB Railfreight (GBRf) has launched a new intermodal service from the port of Felixstowe to iPort Rail in Doncaster, which will run five days a week. It represents GBRf’s 16th intermodal service to date, following rapid expansion into the market over the past 18 months. GBRf says its trains now carry one third of all containerised rail traffic to and from the port of Felixstowe.


IN THE AIR IATA has cut its 2019 outlook for the global air transport industry by 21% to US$28 billion, having previously forecast the 2019 outlook at US$35.5 billion. Under the new forecast, 2019 industry performance is expected to fall under 2018’s net post-tax profits, which IATA estimates at US$30 billion.


Global air freight market demand fell 4.7% in April 2019, measured in freight tonne kilometers, compared with the same period the year before, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) data. This continued the negative trend in year-on-year demand that began in January.


ON THE OCEAN At Nor-Shipping, the conclusion of the DNV GL panel on IMO 2020 appeared to be that with less than six months to go, some shipowners would be ready for low-sulphur fuels. However, discussions revealed many issues remain, even for those preparing well in advance, including ongoing concerns about fuel quality and the cost of complying too far ahead of time.


Containerships have increased in capacity more than tenfold in the last 50 years, and risks have risen proportionally, according to insurer Allianz’s 2019 Safety and Shipping Review. “Insurers have been warning for years that the increasing size of vessels is leading to a higher accumulation of risk. These fears are now being realised, potentially offsetting improvements in safety and risk management,” it said.


The Container Owners Association’s Telematics/Track Trace Work Group will take the unprecedented step of providing an open standard (at the application layer level) to permit interoperability of telematics device data from the various solution providers in the


maritime shipping sector. This will pave the way for all container owners to have multiple choices of vendors and platforms for their container fleets when choosing telematics systems.


The combined threats of tariffs and the International Maritime Organization’s low-sulphur fuel rule will power a spike in demand for trans-Pacific shipping services in the second half of the year, according to panelists at the recent JOC Canada Trade Conference. Shippers are keen to avoid the significant increase in rates that will result from the latter.


Shipping line G2 Ocean, along with trading and logistics firm Manuchar, has finished a pilot trial of CargoX’s smart bill of lading solution. It says the development marks an important step towards retiring the antiquated paper bill of lading.


In the supply chain Global freight demand is set to surge in the coming decades but will also be subject to multiple disruptive factors, according to a new OECD report. ITF Transport Outlook 2019 outlines a range of scenarios


www.bifa.org Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business


through to 2050 and concludes that global freight demand will triple between 2015 and 2050, based on current demand growth rates.


Half of executives surveyed say they expect fully automated supply chains by 2025, according to a recent Supply Chain Reinvention Survey by consulting firm EY Americas. Such digitally networked supply chains that connect suppliers and customers via the cloud, or by directly integrating data, will offer end-to-end visibility up and down the supply chain and require little to no human presence. Robotics will be utilised to fulfil orders, as well as driverless forklifts, according to the study’s authors.


A report on the automotive logistics market by ResearchAndMarkets suggests that the automotive logistics market will increase from US$284.1 billion in 2018 to US$472.9 billion by 2025 as a result of growing vehicle production, which increases the demand for raw materials and components.


On the quayside Construction of the new £200 million port for London, Tilbury2, is under way. The Port of Tilbury has issued a CGI video which shows for the first time the facilities that will be ready in 2020. Construction will include a new rail and road connection, deepwater jetty and pontoon. It will be the UK’s largest unaccompanied ferry port.


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July 2019


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