News & Insights

With the UK and continental Europe’s demand for critical medical supplies and equipment to combat COVID-19 likely to persist well into the second half of the year, efficient air freight solutions have never been more vital. Andy Brooks leads Metro’s air and PPE task team. Andy has been wit... Read more

The critical flow of PPE, medical supplies and equipment to combat COVID-19 likely to persist well into the second half of the year, from China, the United States and across Europe. The continuous flow of PPE, medical equipment and products, particularly from China, is set to continue for at l... Read more

Shipbuilding remains a core national industry for South Korea and the country’s shipping sector is a key supporter of its shipyards, with container shipping line HMM one of the biggest, as the yards support HMM’s aggressive expansion plan, to more than double vessel capacity. HMM’s vesse... Read more

Despite the continuing movement of trans-European freight, the lockdowns, border restrictions and economic uncertainty is forcing profound changes in the road freight market that are difficult for many to follow. Mirroring what we’ve seen on the sea and in the air, demand for road transport ... Read more

With the UK’s hospitals and care workers just beginning to receive their much-need PPE and medical equipment supplies, we are likely to see the current air freight demand persist for several months, possibly into quarter three, as hospital demand diminishes and requirement for civilian use of t... Read more

The Coronavirus pandemic has illustrated, like no prior crisis, the critical need of end to end visibility for supply chain agility, risk management and contingency planning. While business may endeavour to provide the highest quality (or at least optimum) products at the lowest cost, their gl... Read more

Container ships move the vast majority of manufactured goods sold globally and shipping executives anticipate volumes declining more than 10% this year due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis, which is a greater decline to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Metro work very closely in pa... Read more

Despite sharp drops in cargo volumes and fuel prices, freight rates have remained stable as the container shipping lines demonstrated their ability to control the market and there is no sign that they intend to let go. Reduced demand has so far not translated into lower prices for customers of... Read more

The vast numbers of blanked sailings, in response to dwindling demand caused by the pandemic, on the Asia to Europe trade lane is three times greater than normal and means that calls to UK ports are down 30%. Despite the increasing numbers of cancelled sailings, the impact for Metro’s custom... Read more

We reported a month ago that historic low fuel costs was tempting shipping lines to cut out the Suez Canal and sail the long way around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, in a move that adds 7-10 days to the usual transit, but would save them millions by avoiding the toll charges. The Canal is moving ... Read more

Metro’s Outsourcing solutions include a total documentation service that embraces commercial, compliance and financial requirements. Managing the Business Process & Outsource (BPO) functions, Julie Dale works with teams in the UK, India and Malaysia, to meet the evolving needs of internal a... Read more

Despite the continuing movement of UK freight and supply chain operations being specified as ‘essential’ by the government, the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown is diminishing the effectiveness of infrastructure and operations. Port, airports, rail and intermodal terminals are operating norm... Read more