UK businesses remain positive about their prospects in Europe, but customs complexity, compliance costs and uncertainty over future trading arrangements may limit the potential for faster growth. That is the picture emerging from Metro’s latest customer survey, which asked businesses…

Container shipping capacity continues to expand, but congestion, schedule disruption and longer delays are preventing a growing share of the global fleet from carrying cargo when and where shippers need it. For cargo owners, the size of the global container…

Air freight enters the traditional peak-season build-up with a finely balanced market, as capacity reductions and resilient pricing create the potential for rapid tightening when Asian export demand accelerates. The usual late-September surge may still be several weeks away, but…

UK businesses sourcing from India face rising logistics costs before and after production, as more expensive Asian imports combine with tight westbound capacity and strong India–Europe demand. India continues to strengthen its position as a manufacturing and sourcing alternative for…

Strong US import demand, reduced vessel capacity and tighter Panama Canal restrictions are keeping transpacific shipping under pressure, with East Coast services facing particular constraints as September approaches. The transpacific market remains significantly firmer than Asia–Europe, despite signs that the…

Climate volatility is becoming an increasingly important cold-chain risk, as extreme temperatures, disrupted transport networks and the developing El Niño pattern threaten the reliability and cost of moving perishable goods. For food and beverage supply chains, weather has always influenced…

Record-low water levels on the Rhine are creating another significant challenge for European supply chains, restricting barge capacity, increasing transport costs and putting additional pressure on already constrained road and rail networks. The Rhine is one of Europe’s most important…

The global airfreight market is becoming increasingly difficult to predict through headline averages. While worldwide volumes remain above last year’s levels, conditions are diverging sharply between individual origins and trade lanes as de-minimis regulation, technology demand, weather disruption and capacity…

Exporters across India and Bangladesh are facing a difficult combination of strong demand, restricted vessel space, equipment shortages and weather-related disruption, with pressure particularly acute on westbound services to Europe and North America. Although the underlying causes vary between the…