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News Desk


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


according to analysis published in mid-July by analysts CLIVE Data Services and TAC Index.


PROPERTY MATTERS Leeds City Council has given the go-ahead to Caddick Developments’ proposed logistics and industrial hub at Leeds Valley Park, which includes proposals for the construction of six logistics and manufacturing buildings of varying sizes totalling 300,000 sq ft.


China shipment delays to ‘last until Christmas’


ON THE OCEAN July may have seen Ever Given on the move from the Suez Canal, and Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) back up to full operations, but China’s COVID-19 quarantine efforts could impact shipments as far out as Christmas, warned Project44, a company that provides digital supply chain visibility.


Some 301 containerships representing just over 1 million teu changed hands in the first six months of 2021, according to Alphaliner, as carriers and non- operating owners (NOOs) looked to beef up their fleets to take advantage of the disconnect between ship values and charter rates.


The addition of the Pride of Burgundy in freight-only mode, with the capacity to carry 120 lorries, and making two return journeys each day, restores P&O Ferries’ fleet on its Dover-Calais route to five ships in response to growing demand from British and European customers.


Container shipping lines’ yearly profits are expected to approach USD100 billion in 2021 for the first


4


time in the history of container shipping, according to the latest forecast by Drewry. At the same time, freight rates will skyrocket by 50%, despite the important operational disruptions to ports across the world and the global supply chain.


GOING OVERLAND Maritime Transport has added a rail freight service operated by long- standing partner GB Railfreight (GBRf) to connect DP World London Gateway to Maritime’s Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal in Tamworth (BIFT). It runs six days a week from Monday to Saturday with a total transport capacity of 87 teu in each direction.


After GBRf announced a five-day-a- week intermodal rail service between Felixstowe and the Newell & Wright Transport Tinsley Marshalling Yard, located between Sheffield and Rotherham, working with Maersk Line, so Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) subsidiary Freightliner has done the same.


Network Rail and Highways England has published the first phase of the Solent to the Midlands Multimodal Freight Strategy, which


forms part of the former’s Long- Term Planning Process and the latter’s Route Strategy and Pioneer Projects work. Both are designed to identify investment priorities using data to identify where there may be freight flows that currently use road but could be better served by rail.


IN THE AIR London Heathrow Airport will open an 8,209 sq ft temperature- controlled animal reception centre, with direct airside ramp access for partner airlines, to support the logistics of animals travelling by plane. The facility will also serve as an approved border control post.


IATA data for global air cargo markets in May shows that demand continued its strong growth trend. Global cargo tonne-kilometres were up 9.4% compared with May 2019 – not May 2020 as comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the impact of COVID-19.


Average global air freight rates dropped by around 10% in June compared with the year-to-date high seen in May, as a drop in average dynamic load factors was reflected in price declines,


North Lanarkshire Council has approved the Phase 1 plans for Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP), a proposed multimodal rail freight facility in the heart of Scotland.It will provide 2.2 million sq ft of logistics space and Scotland’s first 775-metre electric rail terminal, accommodating 16 trains per day, 24/7.


Take-up of warehouse space in units larger than 50,000 sq ft reached a record 30.8 million sq ft in the first half of 2021, double that recorded in the first half of 2020 – itself a record-breaking year – according to property consultant Knight Frank. Retailers and distribution companies have collectively accounted for 76% of take-up so far this year.


iPort Rail in Doncaster has become the first Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SFRI) in the UK to become an inland customs facility with a temporary storage area. It can now support goods moving in both directions through the Channel Tunnel, or other maritime gateways to and from the UK.


IN BUSINESS Almost one in five logistics workers surveyed in the UK does not intend to return to the office post- pandemic. This is largely due to ongoing concerns about their commute post-lockdown, including infection control on public transport, according to a survey conducted by corporate transport specialist Kura.


August 2021


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