This Christmas, Metro is celebrating the festive season by showing appreciation for its staff and supporting those in need through meaningful charitable initiatives.

The company has partnered with Booni Box, a social enterprise dedicated to creating environmentally friendly, personalised gifts that deliver a lasting impact.

A gift with purpose
Metro staff across the company’s global headquarters and three regional offices will receive a ‘Homelessness Prevention Box’ from Booni Box as a token of gratitude for their hard work throughout the year. However, this gift is about much more than appreciation.

Each box is a collaboration of purpose-driven products from independent brands committed to making a difference. In addition to providing thoughtfully curated items, a portion of the profits from Metro’s purchase will be reinvested into social projects, amplifying the positive impact of every purchase.

The initiative directly supports proactive outreach and coaching for individuals at risk of homelessness, with each box also funding a hot meal for someone in need, ensuring that Metro’s Christmas gift extends far beyond its workforce to touch the lives of those facing hardship.

Charitable highlights in 2024
This initiative is part of Metro’s wider commitment to giving back. In 2024, Metro raised £23,000 for JCB’s NSPCC charity fundraiser, with a team of staff participating in a 50-mile sponsored cycle to JCB’s head office. The company also contributed £15,000 to other charitable causes, supporting staff-driven initiatives, local community projects, and customer-affiliated fundraising efforts.

Metro’s support extended internationally as well, with donations to the Monsoon Accessorize Trust, helping to uplift the communities that supply materials for the business.

Looking forward
Metro’s partnership with Booni Box reflects its ongoing commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. By choosing a gift that makes a tangible difference, the company is not only thanking its staff for their dedication but also giving back to those in need during the festive season.

As 2024 comes to a close, Metro continues to exemplify the spirit of giving—ensuring that its impact is felt within the organisation and far beyond.

The automotive industry is in a constant state of motion, moving 1.6 billion components every year to support the manufacturing of approximately 85 million cars worldwide.

With around 20,000 parts required per vehicle, the sheer scale of supply chain activity is immense, particularly for the 960 million components that must be imported via rail, road, sea, or air to reach production sites.

Metro’s Automotive Operational team plays a crucial role in keeping this complex system running, managing parts, accessories, and vehicles against stringent delivery KPIs to ensure timely, in-full deliveries, no matter the challenges. As global supply chains adapt, Metro’s expertise in overcoming obstacles helps to keep the automotive world moving.

Chinese EV Imports causing waves
European automakers are facing significant pressure from an influx of more affordable electric vehicles (EVs) from China. Chinese brands have quickly gained ground in Europe, rising from less than 1% market share in 2019 to an estimated 8% today. With forecasts suggesting that this figure could double by 2025, European automakers are now contending with vehicles priced as much as 20% lower than EU-made models. In response, the European Union has implemented additional tariffs on Chinese EVs, raising import duties by up to 45.3% after a high-profile trade investigation aimed at protecting the European market.

China has responded by advising its automakers to reduce investments in European countries that support the new tariffs. This escalating trade tension highlights the competition between Chinese and European manufacturers, especially as China’s surplus production capacity of 3 million EVs annually—double the total EU market—seeks new outlets following similar tariff impositions in the US. Germany’s Volkswagen, for example, plans to restructure its domestic operations, including shutting factories and reducing staff, in response to mounting cost pressures and competitive challenges posed by Chinese EVs.

Autonomous driving advances with electric
As the automotive sector continues its shift toward electric mobility, autonomous driving technology is expected to advance alongside it, with early implementation focused on well-defined urban areas. Inner-city environments, where infrastructure and controlled conditions better support this technology, will likely see the first deployments of automated driving. 

Projections estimate that widespread adoption of self-driving passenger vehicles in the UK could save 3,200 lives and prevent over 50,000 serious accidents by 2040, resulting in an economic boost worth £38 billion. Public openness to this technology is growing, with nearly a third of adults willing to try automated passenger services and even higher interest among Generation Z.

Metro’s automotive logistics

The automotive logistics team has had a busy month, handling over 150 cars transported via road, air, and sea, as well as shipping more than 500 containers of automotive components globally and managing around 30 full trailer loads of parts across Europe. 

When time is critical, Metro steps in to provide airfreight solutions for urgent deliveries, whether it’s a customer’s car for a deadline or a new vehicle heading to an event or press reveal. This month, Metro helped a client successfully re-import a car from China to the UK, overcoming delays caused by complex regulatory challenges. For automotive manufacturers, private collectors, and high-profile individuals, Metro ensures that vehicles arrive securely and on time, whatever the destination.

As the automotive industry adapts to new market conditions, from the rise of Chinese EV imports to the advancement of autonomous technology, Metro remains a dependable partner, supporting clients across every stage of the supply chain and helping them navigate the complexities of a fast-evolving global market.

If you have any questions or concerns about your Automotive supply chain, please EMAIL our Automotive team who are standing by to assist.

The ramping up of air cargo demand in Asia has led to ground handlers in Bangkok and Dubai announcing temporary embargoes on imports, with delays still being experienced. 

The unprecedented volumes of air cargo are largely due to modal shifts from sea to air and sea/air because of the Red Sea crisis and a higher than expected export surge ahead of Chinese New Year.

The surge in inbound Dubai cargo flows, that peaked last week, has resulted in a backlog of cargo for processing at the ground handlers, who suspended processing of imports of general cargo.

The big passenger airlines were particularly impacted by the embargo, including Qatar Airways who operate about 10 Dubai flights a day. 

Qatar also issued advisory notices of the temporary embargo at BKK, scheduled to last until the beginning of this week.

Etihad Cargo maintain that its Abu Dhabi hub has been unaffected, but they do have high volumes of inbound trucking into Dubai which has been impacted by the disruption.

No embargo has yet been issued by Etihad Cargo, as they are buffering and clearing cargo in Abu Dhabi for subsequent dispatch to Dubai.

It is clear that the traditional sea-air hubs, including Colombo and Singapore as well as Dubai have experienced massive congestion, and even in Bangkok and Doha, a similar situation is evident.

Colombo volumes are high with sea to air movements, but extra volumes are clearing through charter freighters and there is no serious congestion at the moment.

However, short-term rates have increased by almost a third and while we do not expect them to remain that elevated for long, they may stay strong as importers in Europe and the US use time-critical solutions to avoid empty shelves and stock-outs.

Bangkok ground handlers confirmed the surge in demand had created a backlog in their facilities and have waived storage charges during the embargo, saying they cannot charge storage if they are causing the storage issue. 

Incoming shipments were not being sorted a week ago as there was no storage space in the warehouse, with more cargo expected in the coming days.  

The temporary embargoes only apply to imported general cargo and not perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods or other types of specialised freight. 

For urgent, valuable and special shipments we have a range of air freight and sea/air solutions, with extremely competitive rate and service combinations, to meet every deadline and budget.

EMAIL Elliot Carlile, Operations Director, for insights, prices and advice.

Metro operate in a range of industry sectors and are active members of trade associations that represent our clients’ interests, providing free advice on freight, supply chain and logistics issues, together with access to special rates and expert insights on relevant topical issues.

For over 40 years Metro has been working with leading foodstuff and automotive brands, creating ambient and temperature-controlled supply chains for food products and solutions for inbound automotive product flows, together with aftermarket logistics, distributor support, finished vehicle transport and special projects.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the UK’s food and drink manufacturing industry, bringing together over 1,000 members with business, government and related stakeholders, to ensure that manufacturers have the right conditions to grow, invest and employ.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is one of the largest and most influential trade associations in the UK. It is the voice of the UK motor industry, supporting and promoting its members’ interests, at home and abroad, to government, related businesses and the media.

Effective supply chain management is critical in helping to grow a business, because it minimises costs across all areas, which increases profits and frees up cash that can be used to seize new opportunities.

For the FDF our team are preparing guidance on optimising supplier collaboration and shipping operations to reduce inventory and costs, with better visibility and data analytics to create agility, in reacting and responding to business growth opportunities.

With the SMMT our automotive team is taking a particularly proactive role, as active members of the society’s UK Logistics Forum.

UKLF is a community of senior figures from major manufacturers, component suppliers and automotive logistics, for finished vehicle delivery and parts supply. The UKLF meet regularly to coordinate industry collaboration, respond to UK and European legislation, discuss common issues and drive initiatives in logistics and supply chain efficiency.

We are proud of our long-standing association with the food, drink and automotive industries and are particularly pleased that our FDF and SMMT memberships are allowing us to give something back, by sharing knowledge, insights and advice, what will reduce costs and support growth.

To learn more about our automotive capability, EMAIL Ian Tubbs or EMAIL Matt.Paxton-Rhodes who oversees our foodstuffs product.