Category: Coronavirus

The governments decision to inject £35 million, to keep vital freight routes moving and maintain capacity through the COVID19 disruption, is welcome now and for 2021. The government’s cash injection will keep vital freight ferry and rail routes into and out of the UK running smoothly and en... Read more

The coronavirus pandemic is severely disrupting global supply chains and in the process, laying the foundation for permanent changes to international trade. We’re still seeing the jump in sea freight volumes that was the catch-up from the earlier China shutdown and now we’ve entered the pe... Read more

Pandemic triggered lockdowns and the collapse in economic activity have had profound impacts on global supply chains, with transport operators slashing supply, while some infrastructure providers have struggled to maintain supporting operations. The Coronavirus pandemic has stalled global econ... Read more

The Coronavirus pandemic is forcing businesses to adapt and technology is critical to the success of those adaptations and evolutions, accelerating the digitalisation of the entire freight sector. Metro believe that Blockchain, machine-learning and emerging technologies are the future of inter... Read more

On the 20th April we highlighted the new Customs controls that the Chinese government had imposed on exports of PPE and medical equipment into Europe. The danger of congestion has unfortunately been borne out. Shortly after the new regulations were imposed we saw customs brokers raising rates ... Read more

In a first tentative step out of the lockdown the prime minister has said that those who could not work from home should be "actively encouraged to go to work” from yesterday, in England. Safety of our people and serving our customers effectively is Metro’s primary concerns at this time and w... 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

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