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News Desk


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


weeks. It added that the blank sailings will also cause problems for the resumption of the Europe-Asia backhaul trade later this year.


The International Transport Forum, which works under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development in Paris, is set to lock horns with the liner community once again, issuing a 10-page report in late April cautioning governments against rushing to bail out debt-laden carriers in the coming months.


Hyundai Merchant Marine has introduced HMM Algeciras, the world’s biggest containership with a capacity of 24,000 teu, and the first of 12 in a new fleet of megaships scheduled for sequential delivery until September 2020.


West Midlands railfreight interchange gets go-ahead


OVERLAND The UK Secretary of State for Transport approved the Development Consent Order for the West Midlands Strategic Railfreight Interchange off the M6 in Staffordshire in early May. It added the caveat of a six-week period in which the decision may be challenged in the High Court via a judicial review.


Maritime Intermodal has launched a new rail freight service operated by DB Cargo UK from DP World Southampton to its terminal at East Midlands Gateway which is able to move up to 74 teu in each direction.


Road freight volumes in Europe started to increase over the second half of April for machinery and equipment, construction and building materials, and non-food


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retail, according to a report in the Loadstar based on data from supply chain platform Shippeo, Transport Intelligence and Upply. Rates remained relatively steady.


IN THE AIR The UK’s Supreme Court has granted permission to Heathrow Airport for an appeal against the blocking of its plans to build a third runway, although commentators suggest the start of any work will face at least another two-year delay because of the appeal process and the coronavirus pandemic.


Many of the world’s airlines could face insolvency by the end of 2020 without government intervention, and it could take until 2023 for passenger demand to return to pre-crisis levels, according to the top executives at carriers Emirates and Etihad. IATA released data for March air


cargo performance demonstrating a severe capacity shortfall. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne kilometres, fell by 15.2% during the month compared with the previous year.


The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has kick-started a network of global logistics hubs that will support the entire air community and ensure the delivery of vital medical and humanitarian supplies to developing countries at a time when commercial air transport is at a virtual standstill.


ON THE OCEAN Sea-Intelligence reported in early May that the impact of blank sailings has now reached a peak, with the Asia-North Europe trade hitting 38% cancelled capacity, and at least one-fifth capacity withdrawal for seven consecutive


IN THE WAREHOUSE E-commerce sales hit $25.6 trillion globally in 2018, up 8% from 2017, according to the latest available estimates released by the UN’s trade and development body, UNCTAD, at the start of its UNCTAD eWeek event.


INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNCTAD recently released an action plan aimed at tearing down barriers to trade and transport, and ensuring the free flow of goods, food and essential supplies. UNCTAD has proposed 10 policy measures to cover maritime transport, customs operations, transit, transparency, legal issues and technology for enhancing paperless trade processes.


IN BUSINESS Four leading organisations – Business on the Move, Career Ready Think Logistics, NOVUS and Talent in Logistics – have collaborated to launch #LearningThroughLogistics, a collection of home-schooling resources that they hope will prove popular with anyone working in the logistics sector looking for new ways to support their children’s education.


June 2020


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