BIFAlink


News Desk


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


ON THE QUAYSIDE Liverpool2, the Port of Liverpool’s deepwater container terminal set a new terminal record in December – for the second time in 2020. MSC Tamara docked and exchanged 5,956 teu, beating the port’s existing record of teu from a single vessel by 496 teu.


The port of Felixstowe will become the largest UK port to deploy 5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance productivity, efficiency and safety across its core operations, using a 5G private network installed by Three UK.


Container capacity out of Asia at record levels


ON THE OCEAN As this issue of BIFAlink went to press, container lines were expected to provide more deepsea capacity out of Asia over the Chinese New Year holiday, beginning 12 February, than in any previous year. Data from liner database eeSea’s Blank Sailings Tracker showed that, across the transpacific, Asia-Europe and transatlantic trades, just 1.7% and 0.6% of head haul sailings had been cancelled in February and March respectively. This compares with the 19.9% and 9.4% of sailings cancelled in the same months last year.


The Competition Directorate of the European Commission was urged in early January to act over the current practices of liner shipper carriers.


A joint letter from CLECAT and


the European Shippers’ Council claimed the carriers are distorting supply chains and damaging trade growth at a time of economic recession.


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From mid-January, One Network Express has offered two new direct services from North Europe to the East Mediterranean and Turkey, with Southampton as the UK port of call.


IN THE AIR Amazon announced in early January that it had bought 11 used Boeing 767-300 passenger aircraft for its delivery service. Amazon will convert them for the exclusive carriage of cargo, joining its air cargo network by 2022, giving it a fleet of some 85 aircraft.


Global air freight markets saw volumes improve in November compared with October, but remain depressed compared with 2019, according to IATA data. Capacity remained constrained by the loss of available belly cargo space as passenger aircraft remained parked.


Boeing has won an order from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the world’s largest 747 operator with a fleet of 53, for the final four humpbacked


freighters. They will roll out of the manufacturer’s factory in Seattle with delivery scheduled from May through to October 2022.


GOING OVERLAND The cost of sending freight across the Channel has surged following the end of the Brexit transition period. In the first week of January, moving full truckloads from France to the UK was 39% more expensive compared with average prices from the end of last year, according to data from global logistics platform Transporeon, with logistics experts saying that increased prices are here to stay.


Because of Brexit, road haulage capacities available on the European spot market are falling substantially amid rising prices, according to the current Transport Market Monitor. The corridors between France and the UK, and Germany and the UK are reporting particularly large losses of transport capacity, while prices continue to increase.


Shanghai port posted a new record container volume of 43.5 million teu last year, enabling it to retain the title of the world’s busiest container port for the 11th year in a row.


IN BUSINESS TT Club has urged owners to step up their awareness of safety issues arising from poorly packed containers and misdeclared goods, and also called on owners to follow good practice in the supply chain as part of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. It noted that two-thirds of cargo damage incidents are caused or exacerbated by poor practices at the time of packing goods into a freight container.


The course ‘Prevention of Wildlife Trafficking’ launched by FIATA and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, is now available free of charge in seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish).


Transport Logistic, one of the most important hubs for B2B networking in the global logistics industry, which also hosts Air Cargo Europe, will not go ahead as a live event this year. Organisers are planning to host an online conference from 4-6 May, with the next physical Transport Logistic event due to take place in 2023 from 9-12 May (fingers crossed!).


February 2021


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