News & Insights

With just 35 (25 working) days until the end of the EU transition period both sides are trying to reach a trade deal, that will soften the blow of departure and avoid a shattering end that neither want. Despite finance minister Rishi Sunak stating that “with a constructive attitude and goodw... Read more

HMRC’s legacy declaration system Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) is over 25 years old and should have been replaced by Customs Declaration System (CDS) in 2019, but CDS is behind schedule and experts say it is unworkable. One of the forwarding sector’s primary softwar... Read more

As the first wave of the COVID pandemic took hold in March the International Road Transport Union IRU estimated a decline in global road transport activity of up to 20% and a global loss in operator revenues of up to $1 trillion. Despite maintaining supply chains, especially for essentials suc... Read more

With sea freight rates reaching some of the highest levels ever seen, along with equipment shortages, late vessels and still no guarantee of uplift, some shippers are starting to switch to air, driving up rates on a mode that had been enjoying some stability. The current lack of container line... Read more

With disruption at the Port of Felixstowe branded “a mess”, the national press is now also reporting on global port disruption, as retailers express concerns about product shortages in the run-up to Christmas.  As Metro has been reporting regularly in recent weeks, the impact at Felix... Read more

In two days we have gone from the EU insisting the UK needed to remove part of its controversial Internal Market Bill that breach the withdrawal treaty in order to get the trade deal done, to UK business secretary Alok Sharma insisting the EU and UK “have made progress” and that an agreement ... Read more

After suffering an expected defeat in the House of Lords on Monday over proposed laws which could breach Britain’s EU exit treaty, the government has affirmed its intention to re-table the contentious plan, that has been explicitly criticised by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. Despite the Pr... Read more

Container ships, including the world’s largest, are skipping UK ports entirely, or leaving only partially discharged and without collecting export containers, in what is fast becoming a daily occurrence. COVID-safe working practices and extensive deep-cleaning at shift handovers, continues t... Read more

Logistics UK, the revamped Freight Transport Association (FTA), has warned that a No-Deal Brexit could have a significant effect on the price of all imported goods and could drive inflation up as a result. “Everyday household items we import will become more expensive under World Trade Organ... Read more

Singles' Day is an unofficial Chinese holiday celebrating people who are not in relationships, with the unmarried commemorating the occasion by treating themselves to gifts, making Singles' Day the largest online shopping day in the world, by quite some margin. With 1.9bn products ordered in 2... Read more

While government minister Michael Gove fielded questions on Brexit IT system release dates from a parliamentary committee, name changes and uncertainty about systems preparedness is making the logistics industry nervous. Mr Gove told the Future Relationship with the EU parliamentary select com... Read more

Sea freight rates and surcharges continue to rise on all the primary trade-lanes, up 10% from Asia in the last week, with no signs of softening in the coming weeks, or months. Even with some blanked capacity over Golden Week, capacity on the Asia-Europe trade  increased 14% year over year... Read more