News & Insights

Peaceful protests by university students against a government job quota system favouring relatives of war veterans escalated into nationwide violence last week, resulting in over 150 deaths, communication blackouts, and curfews. Today, Bangladesh began to gradually lift the curfew imposed last Th... Read more

Global demand for ocean freight container shipping has surged to unprecedented levels, surpassing even the peak during the Covid pandemic and comes when available capacity is already strained due to diversions around Africa, leading to concerns that any peak season demand could be calamitous. ... Read more

On Friday, a faulty update to Microsoft software by cyber-security firm Crowdstrike, saw global supply chain operations significantly disrupted, with the fallout expected to take weeks to fully resolve. Thousands of flights were grounded or delayed at major air freight hubs in Europe, Asia, an... Read more

The recent sinking of the Prestige Falcon oil tanker, following a Houthi attack, marks the deadliest incident involving these strikes to date. The vessel capsized near the Omani coastal city of Duqm, and while the Indian Navy rescued nine of the 16 crew members, one was found deceased, and six... Read more

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) contract with maritime employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), is set to expire on the 30th September 2024 and with under 10 weeks remaining, negotiations have stalled, making a strike increasingly likely.  Any... Read more

The UK economy has faced significant challenges in recent years, impacted by global economic shocks, but signs of recovery are emerging as GDP growth returns, inflation declines, interest rates fall and consumer confidence grows. Economic projections are indicating a positive outlook, despite ... Read more

In June, a catastrophic factory fire erupted after several lithium batteries exploded, killing 22 people in South Korea. As a leading producer of lithium batteries, South Korea’s Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells, used in products ranging from electric vehicles to laptops... Read more

The last week of June saw further gains on sea freight spot rates from Asia into Europe and North America, as a series of peak season surcharges (PSS) were imposed and new FAK levels from 1st July creating double-digit increases in spot freight rates. With spot and FAK rates across all three c... Read more

The Labour party’s manifesto outlines a commitment to bolster the resilience of supply chains in key sectors, a task that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh will spearhead. Recent global events, such as the war in Ukraine and pandemic-induced disruptions, have underscored the necessity of this... Read more

Robust growth in global air cargo markets for April 2024 marks a strong start to the second quarter, with airfreight rates on key trades out of Asia remaining “firm” in June, despite the market entering the traditional quieter summer period or ‘slack season’. Quite simply there isn’t on... Read more

European ports are overflowing with imported electric vehicles (EVs), especially from China, as manufacturers rush to ship cars before new tariffs take effect. This surge in imports has turned car terminals into vast car parks, with dealers hesitating to accept more vehicles due to slowing sales.... Read more

The UK financial markets have shown remarkable stability following Labour’s landslide victory in the snap election called by Rishi Sunak. Labour’s win has bolstered investor confidence, with UK stocks, bonds, and sterling all seeing gains. Since late May, the pound has been the only G10 cu... Read more