Category: Air

Retailers warn of delays after Red Sea attacks

Leading retailers including IKEA and NEXT have warned that the diverting of vessels aways from the Suez canal and around southern Africa will result in delays and may restrict the availability of certain products. Re-routing container ships around Africa adds 3,500 nautical miles to a typical ... Read more

Sea freight shippers opt for air and sea/air alternatives

With the container shipping lines diverting around Africa until the Red Sea maritime security situation improves, the uncertainty and unpredictability that surrounds schedules could fuel demand for air cargo as shippers seek stability of services and certainty of transit times. Air cargo deman... Read more

2nd January; Suez Crisis Update

In our 2023 supply chain review we said that we were hopeful that the formation of a coalition naval task force to patrol the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden would restore maritime security quickly, but Sunday’s two attacks on the Maersk Hangzhou suggest it could be some time before the route... Read more

Supply chain; a year in review

2023 was supposed to be the year that global supply chains bounced back from pandemic lockdowns and factory shutdowns, trade wars, tariffs and war in Europe, but now container shipping is disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea and restrictions on the Panama Canal. The COVID pandemic and its after... Read more

Supporting sustainable fuel for air and sea freight

As we move into our second year of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) investment, with Air France, KLM, Martinair, it is great to see the successful transatlantic flight, greater SAF availability and increasing options for green sea freight transport. The first transatlantic flight by a large pas... Read more

Nature and demand pushing up airfreight rates

Airfreight spot rates continued to rise last week as weather conditions, volcanic activity and wars put capacity under pressure, with fears of a major eruption in Iceland growing - possibly within days. With the airfreight sector preparing to benefit from a potential reduction in ocean shippin... Read more

Government committed to SAF

As part of the UK’s net zero commitment the government is supporting a variety of technology, fuel and market-based measures to address aviation emissions, with particular commitment to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The government recognise sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as crucial to ef... Read more

Market upturn for air freight

Air freight spot rates have risen steadily since August on major Asia outbound lanes and while there is no significant peak season the market is definitely tighter, with global rates and tonnages stabilising after China’s Golden Week. There is a perceptible uptick in air cargo rates, which i... Read more

Positive developments at our Birmingham hub airport

Metro have worked in a strategic partnership with Birmingham Airport for almost 10 years and its importance as an air cargo hub and global gateway for the Midlands, has been further underlined by critical ground-handling investments and pending China freighter services. Metro’s partnership w... Read more

Air cargo delays and ocean carriers announce Israel war risk surcharge

While sea freight traffic is largely operating without significant issues, the conflict in Israel is impacting airfreight to the country and the surrounding region, with many carriers’ services subject to cancellation and delay. Many airlines have suspended direct flights to and from Israel,... Read more

Air freight may have turned a corner

Airfreight rates, as measured on the Baltic Air Freight Indices*, ticked up through September on major Asia-outbound lanes, giving credence to the possibility of a peak season in 2023, with rates ex Hong Kong up 7% and ex Shanghai a whopping 34%. According to the most recent reading of the BAI... Read more

Air freight demand recovery still a way off

Weak summer demand saw air freight chargeable weight move down 1% and while the fall was minor, it is the fourth consecutive month of falls, which suggests that we may require another few quarters before we see more demand pick up on a global level. According to the latest market analysis from... Read more