News & Insights

Our alerts, news and guides embrace all transport modes and explore global developments across all aspects of the supply chain, to keep you informed and guide decision making.

Red Sea crisis expanding and growing

After the longest period of attack-free shipping in the Red Sea since December, the situation in the region is escalating, with an increase in Houthi attacks, fears that the ‘danger area’ may be expanding into the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean and an Iranian vessel hijack off the Gulf of Oman.... Read more

Red Sea, garments and eCommerce among factors driving up airfreight rates

Traditionally airfreight rates would soften at this time, as the start of the airline passenger summer season adds significant amounts of belly-hold airfreight capacity on long-haul routes, but pockets of high volumes are pushing rates up. Globally, the air cargo market is experiencing rising ... Read more

Strengthening global partnerships: India

Metro’s main board recently completed a multi-city tour across India, as part of a strategy to fortify existing partnerships with key suppliers and to carve out new avenues for growth, by direct engagement with prospective customers. The visit spanned several major cities including Mumbai an... Read more

UK and EU customs border changes

ICS2 advance filings will be used by EU customs to identify high-risk shipments from the 3rd June, while post-Brexit import charges which come into effect on the 30th April have raised fears of UK food price inflation. The UK Common User Charge (CUC) The CUC will apply to each commodity line ... Read more

Metro is a certified Great Place to Work

Metro has been officially certified as a Great Place to Work, in an accreditation that recognises our commitment to create an outstanding, rewarding workplace, with a strong focus on building a positive culture and supporting individuals. Great Place To Work (GPTW) Certification recognises em... Read more

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

There are 195 signatories to the Paris Agreement to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, though some including the EU and UK have undertaken to cut carbon emissions faster than others. The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) continuously expands to include new sectors to encourage ind... Read more

Red Sea update

The last three months of 2023 were some of the worst for liner shipping’s finances in recent years, while early volume indications for this year suggest the coming months could bring stronger trading conditions for shipping lines, especially with the Red Sea diversions and capacity management t... Read more

Baltimore supply chain contingencies

In Baltimore work to remove the 9,662 TEU vessel Dali and damaged bridge has begun, with seven floating cranes and 30 vessels on scene, but with 4,000 tons of steel pinning the ship to the riverbed port officials suggest vessel diversions could last three months. The bridge collapse will mean ... Read more

MPC Maintain the status quo…for now

On the 21st March the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) surprised no one by holding interest rates at 5.25% for the fifth time in a row, with eight of nine committee members voting to leave rates unchanged in March.  Despite maintaining the current status quo Andrew Bailey, ... Read more

Avoiding the bill that Dali shippers will face

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after the container ship, Dali, collided with it last Tuesday. The eventual cost of the disaster is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars and shippers with cargo aboard the Dali could ultimately be responsible for the ship's damages and... Read more

Maersk vessel collapses Baltimore bridge

The Dali, a time chartered Maersk container vessel with two pilots onboard, crashed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early hours of Tuesday 26th February, collapsing a large section of the 1.6 mile bridge into the Patapsco River. The Francis S... Read more

TPM and US review

Organised by the Journal of Commerce, TPM (Transpacific Maritime Conference) is the premier global shipping and supply chain conference, attracting senior executives from all areas of the industry. Held annually in the port city of Long Beach, California, TPM brings together shippers, carriers... Read more