A New Government – a New Britain; Strengthening UK Supply Chains for Economic Resilience
The Labour party’s manifesto outlines a commitment to bolster the resilience of supply chains in key sectors, a task that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh will spearhead.
Recent global events, such as the war in Ukraine and pandemic-induced disruptions, have underscored the necessity of this...
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Air Cargo Demand Grows Strongly in Q2 2024 – and will continue for the rest of the year
Robust growth in global air cargo markets for April 2024 marks a strong start to the second quarter, with airfreight rates on key trades out of Asia remaining “firm” in June, despite the market entering the traditional quieter summer period or ‘slack season’. Quite simply there isn’t on...
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European ports turned into EV car parks
European ports are overflowing with imported electric vehicles (EVs), especially from China, as manufacturers rush to ship cars before new tariffs take effect. This surge in imports has turned car terminals into vast car parks, with dealers hesitating to accept more vehicles due to slowing sales....
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Europe may experience its own near-shoring boom
As planes descend into Monterrey airport, an expanse of warehouses and manufacturing complexes stretches out for miles, exemplifying the near-shoring boom that has swept through Mexico in recent years, as Asian companies and their supply chains move closer to the United States.
Drivers of Mexi...
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Port congestion (amongst other things) continues to push rates up
With increasing amounts of ocean freight capacity soaked up by COGH (Cape of Good Hope) diversions and port congestion, spot rates are spiking, with indexes up significantly on 2023 and market led spot/FAK rates up by nearly 500%. Now, carriers desperate for ships and more capacity are setting n...
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Felixstowe train derailment
At 22:09 on Wednesday 19th June a GB railway locomotive and loaded wagons en-route to the Port of Felixstowe derailed on the branch line approaching the main Central and Northern railheads, causing significant damage to the track and closing both terminals to train movements.
The Central and N...
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India exporters face more challenges
Shipping lines are imposing surcharges and raising freight rates as capacity from India to Europe, North America and The Rest of The World tightens. Indicative of why this is, can be seen with exports to the US up 13% and significant ocean network changes expected on the India-North America trade...
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Sea freight rates from Asia continue to spike and remain on an upward trajectory
Between the start of April and last week, average spot rates from the Far East into North Europe increased by 31%, the US West Coast 30%, Mediterranean 25% and US East Coast 22%, with spot rates to Europe currently $6,000-$7,500 and analysts suggesting they may hit $10,000.
Market demand reach...
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US tariff increases on China EV’s have wider ramifications
Only 2% of US electric vehicle (EV) imports come from China and while economists ponder how effective President Biden’s new 100% tariff will be in protecting US markets, it is likely that EV flows will be redirected to Europe by manufacturers eager to exploit profitable markets.
On the 14th ...
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Global port congestion threat to capacity
The Red Sea crisis and the much longer sailing distances triggered by the diversion around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope (COGH) soaked up existing market overcapacity, which was just enough to cope with the extended COGH transit times, provided there were no additional disruptions to maritime supp...
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Summer 2024; France supply chain alert
This summer, a number of large-scale sporting events are likely to create some supply chain disruption, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Paris between the 26th of July to the 11th of August, and the 28th of August to the 8th of September.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, whic...
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UK is world’s 4th largest exporter – we look behind the headline
The UK, which ranked 7th in 2021, leapt up to become the world’s 4th largest exporter in 2022, according to new data published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). But it may not be all good news and there’s plenty to consider within the data.
The UK’s rise to become t...
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