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News Desk


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


level recorded since the series began in 1990.


The top six freighter operators that purchased new-build Boeing 747 freighters directly from the aircraft manufacturer, and continue to operate the type, have yet to add another production widebody type to their fleets. With the 747 ending production in 2022, their choice is currently limited to the 777F.


Shippers seek multi-year ocean shipping contracts


ON THE OCEAN Increasing numbers of shippers are seeking multi-year ocean shipping contracts to protect themselves against the elevated rate levels that prevail in both the spot and long- term markets, according to carriers. The long-term contracts are typically linked to either one of the rate indices, or open-ended with a rate review every 12 months.


Investors have piled into the red-hot container shipping market, sending share prices for top container lines skywards. Alphaliner revealed that share prices of the largest, listed global carriers have leapt by an average 400% from pre-COVID-19 levels, far in excess of the gains seen across stock markets around the world over the past 16 months.


Reefer container freight rates have risen sharply this year, according to Drewry’s Reefer Container Freight Rate Index, a weighted average of reefer freight rates across the top 15 reefer intensive trade lanes. The index jumped 26% in the first quarter on a seasonal uptick in cargo demand and rising bunker surcharges – its highest level since


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the index was launched in the first quarter of 2017.


US Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel said he is exploring how China is involved in the container shortage that has been an issue for many months. He is reported to believe that China may be manipulating the market to control the availability of containers.


Plans have been unveiled by the Suez Canal Authority to widen and deepen 30 km of the waterway between Suez and the Great Bitter Lake, with work to be completed in 24 months. The draught would be increased to 72 ft.


DFDS will deploy Gothia from this month in a daily service each way between Sheerness and Calais, with capacity for 165 unaccompanied trailers. In additon, the introduction of the Pride of Burgundy, which can carry 140 accompanied trucks, will restore the P&O Dover-Calais fleet to its pre- pandemic strength of five.


GOING OVERLAND New guidance designed to prevent


commercial vehicles, including vans, lorries, buses, coaches and even cranes, from being used as weapons in acts of terrorism has been published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and sponsored by the Department for Transport. It sets out a raft of security measures to prevent criminals and terrorists from accessing commercial vehicles.


IN THE AIR A new sustainability report from TIACA found that 90% of the air cargo stakeholders surveyed felt their company was led by a chief executive supportive of a sustainability agenda. In addition, 81% indicated their company had made sustainability initiatives a genuine strategic priority. The information can now be used to form a ‘ground zero’ assessment by which future progress can be measured.


IATA’s March 2021 data for global air cargo markets shows that demand continued to outperform pre-COVID-19 levels (March 2019) with demand up 4.4%. In fact, March demand reached the highest


ON THE QUAYSIDE Drewry believes that the whole of 2021 will be affected by port congestion, and that container cycle times will not get back to pre-COVID- 19 levels until the end of this year and possibly into 2022. However, it also believes there is sufficient equipment in the fleet to support trade and its growth, it is just that the containers are in the wrong places.


The new global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), launched by the World Bank and IHS Markit, ranks Yokohama (Japan) as the world’s most efficient port ahead of King Abdullah Port (Saudi Arabia) and Qingdao (China). It also found that Asian container ports are the most efficient in the world, dominating the Top 50 spots.


IN BUSINESS The dramatic rise in e-commerce, amid movement restrictions induced by COVID-19, saw online retail sales increase their share of total retail sales from 16% to 19% in 2020, according to estimates in an UNCTAD report published in early May. It also estimates that global e- commerce sales jumped to US$26.7 trillion in 2019, up 4% from 2018, including B2B and B2C sales.


Following a year in which forwarding volumes tumbled, the market is expected to see strong real growth in 2021, says consultancy Transport Intelligence. It projects the market will grow by 11.6% in real terms (holding prices and exchanges rates constant), in part a reaction to the decline in volumes last year.


June 2021


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