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BIFAlink


News Desk


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


their supply chains drove demand for logistics floorspace. JLL added that national vacancy rates stood at 9% at the end of 2019, up from 8% a year earlier.


The A14 improvement work under way


Improvements to A14 completed months early


OVERLAND The £1.5 billion road improvement scheme on the A14 is set to open this spring, months earlier than originally planned. This follows the December opening of part of the 21-mile scheme – a new 12-mile bypass south of Huntingdon – 12 months ahead of schedule.


Signatories to the TIR Convention adopted a new legal framework on 5 February to make the system fully digital. The next steps will entail implementation of digital corridors, set for May 2021, so that customs authorities and transport operators are able to use fully electronic solutions as soon as possible.


IN THE AIR IATA released full-year 2019 data, in early February, for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers, fell by 3.3% compared with 201, while capacity rose by 2.1%. This was the first year of declining freight volumes since 2012, and the weakest performance since the global financial crisis in 2009 when air freight markets contracted by 9.7%.


By mid-February, a marked reduction in passenger flights to


4


and from China had created a tightening in the supply of bellyhold cargo space.


ON THE OCEAN P&O Ferries has released the first official images of its new generation of ‘super-ferries’ which are under construction at Guangzhou Shipyard International in China and are set to operate between Dover and Calais from 2023. Two have been ordered at a combined value of EUR260 million, with options for a further two for delivery by 2024.


The Freightos Baltic Index, a daily composite of 40 ft container shipping rates available for 12 different trade lanes, produced by online market Freightos, will be overseen and made available by the Baltic Exchange (the maritime industry’s primary source of market pricing information). This is a big step towards allowing Freightos’ freight indices to be used in financial contracts.


DP World London Gateway has been chosen as the UK port of call for the new IEX service, the only direct link between the UK and the east coast of India operated by The Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming and ONE) in cooperation with


Cosco and OOCL. Nine 6,500 teu ships are deployed on a weekly rotation.


Associations representing shippers, freight forwarders and port service providers, including CLECAT, the European Shippers Council, European Tugowners Association and the Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals, have objected to the inclusion in the European Commission’s 2020 Work Programme of the decision to extend the Consortia Block Exemption for another four years.


ON THE QUAYSIDE A ten-week consultation was launched on 10 February setting out the government’s vision for the opening of at least 10 new Freeports, with the aim of announcing the location of the new zones at the end of this year so that they can be open for business in 2021.


IN THE WAREHOUSE Dedicated e-commerce companies took 25% of all Grade A floorspace let and sold in the UK in 2019, according to research by JLL, as structural changes in the market and companies looking to restructure


IN BUSINESS Speaking about the impact of the Coronavirus on international supply chains, Professor John Manners- Bell, chief executive of Transport Intelligence, said it may provide a short downturn in the quarterly results of many global companies, but should be a warning to politicians and all in the industry that many modern supply chains lack resilience.


CCS-UK User Group and CCS-UK (operated by BT) have jointly developed a solution to assist in the smooth movement of imports to the UK via ro-ro ports or the Channel Tunnel. The solution was approved by HM Revenue & Customs and Border Force at the end of January 2020 for use if there is no deal with the EU, and will be adapted to comply with the processes required at the end of the current implementation period, once these details are known.


HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has extended the deadline for businesses to apply for customs support funding to 31 January 2021. The scheme, first announced in September 2019, had been due to close on 31 January 2020. To date, applications have been made for around £18.5 million out of a possible £26 million – meaning there is at least £7.5 million left to claim from HMRC.


Cargo insurance specialists expect an increase in commercial claims as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in China, which is delaying cargo in ports or on board ships, with perishable cargo facing obvious time-delay difficulties. The TT Club has issued a guidance note for freight forwarders and logistics managers, with the assistance of law firm Holman Fenwick and Willan.


March 2020


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