News & Insights

The UK car industry's trade body says one in six jobs are at risk of redundancy without help from the government in restarting production. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says that one in six jobs are at risk, without help from the government including emergency funding, ... Read more

Extensive business continuity plans are our bulwark against business interruptions, in a whole host of guises. In many ways the coronavirus outbreak is the test for which our team has been planning and preparing for years. Unlike any crisis we may have considered, though, this one has new e... Read more

Sea freight rates have held up strongly on the Asia–Europe trade in both directions despite weak volume, with export prices performing especially well for the shipping lines. Carriers have tightly managed capacity through the coronavirus pandemic, blanking an extensive number of sailings on ... Read more

The UK left the European Union on January 31, 2020 with the transition period ending on December 31, 2020 and while the recent easements announced by the government will ensure continuity of import flows from 1st January there will be abrupt and major changes for exports to the EU, unless there i... Read more

Andy is “relishing the opportunity that Brexit brings” because, working with our IT development team, he is pioneering the automation of EU and UK customs declaration requirements, to streamline freight movements into and out of the EU. Andy joined Metro nine years ago, as import manager, ... Read more

Rail freight services from China to Europe have seen a massive increase in volumes, as PPE driven demand for air freight resulted in congestion, lengthier transits and disrupted air cargo supply chains. Rail cargo throughput from China to Europe during the recent peak increased by 40% over the... Read more

The bane of many a shipping manager, the Bunker Surcharge, BAF or Bunker adjustment factor, refers to a floating part of sea freight charges which represents additions due to oil prices. Which, on the petrol station forecourt, have fallen off a cliff - but not, apparently in shipping. With the... Read more

As an EU member, the UK was automatically part of 3 trade agreements (FTAs) with 37 partners that have come fully into force, FTAs with 43 partners, that are provisionally applied and FTA negotiations with another 19 countries. Whilst the deadline for requesting an extension is officially 30th... Read more

As the Coronavirus pandemic has spread globally, deep supply and demand shocks have severely disrupted international trade. Marine Traffic a data solutions provider is hosting a series of digital sessions on the future of shipping and what container movements may tell us about our return to prosp... Read more

The transport of personal protective equipment (PPE) and essential medical products, particularly from China, may be less frenetic than at the pandemic’s peak, but it remains continuous and is just as critical, with Metro already successfully importing and distributing over 200 million units th... Read more

Just weeks after we reported on the Digital Container Shipping Association’s (DCSA) initiative to enable the collaboration necessary for achieving full eBL adoption, India is set to allow bills of lading to be filed over a blockchain platform. India’s efforts to digitise its maritime suppl... Read more