Category: Sea

Shippers brace for Felixstowe and Liverpool walkouts – a double whammy

Strikes at the key container ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool commenced at the latter on the 19th September and will continue to the beginning of October, with dates overlapping for maximum disruption. Dock workers began their planned two-week strike at Liverpool port on Monday, 19th Septembe... Read more

Potentially disruptive rail strike averted in US, while, unfortunately, UK braces for more

President Biden’s administration has averted a rail strike that would have caused further issues within the country’s fragile supply chain infrastructure, while rail strikes will recommence  in the UK from October, following the recent deferment of the original a... Read more

Threat of port strikes to Christmas

Dock workers at Felixstowe finished their first strike in over 30 years on Sunday, after members of the Unite union withdrew their labour for eight days in a dispute over pay, with Unite members at the Port of Liverpool announcing it is likely to follow suit within weeks. The&nb... Read more

US inland port will reduce pressure on Los Angeles and Long Beach

The Mojave Inland Port site is adjacent to the Mojave Air and Space Port, a fully operational airport capable of accommodating large cargo aircraft, with a Union Pacific rail line running through the site and the capacity to handle up to 3,600 trucks a day and three million containers per ye... Read more

If you use ocean freight you can’t ignore IMO 2023 – what is it?…read on to find out the implications.

The supply chain challenges that have been driven by the pandemic and continue today with endemic congestion and disruption are significant and need attention, but preparation is needed for significant changes and challenges that are waiting just around the corner. For close on two years every... Read more

Felixstowe | Liverpool | Railways: Ocean freight container supply chains face triple strike challenge

With rail workers striking tomorrow and Saturday nationally and the Felixstowe Port strike starting on Sunday, for potentially eight days, UK supply chain operations and infrastructure are facing the biggest industrial action challenge in decades. Two of the UK’... Read more

Rhine closure to container barge traffic will have far reaching consequences

Europe’s heatwave forced the closure of the Rhine to barge traffic from last Friday as water levels fell 4cm below the depth necessary for operations, raising fears for container shipping and industrial disruption. The Rhine, the second-largest river in central and western Europe, runs 760 m... Read more

More blank sailings show wisdom of mixed rate portfolio

As we enter the traditional peak season for sea freight, demand for space from China is falling and the lines are taking action to counter over-capacity in the North Europe and Mediterranean trades, while transPacific demand in stasis. As Hapag-Lloyd published its Q2 2022 results, the impact o... Read more

Supply chain disruption may soak up sea freight capacity on major Asian container trades

Capacity from Asia to the West Coast will be 20% higher through September, than last year, but inland supply chain disruption is continuing and threatens to wipe out any benefit from the increased capacity. Carriers serving the US West Coast will have 20% more peak-season capacity from Asia, c... Read more

The world’s largest container shipping lines – and there are not that many!

With around 80% of global trade transported by sea and three major shipping alliances controlling 95% of the critical trade lanes from Asia to North America and Europe, a handful of shipping lines have massive influence over the cost and effectiveness of international trade. The three major sh... Read more

China/Hong Kong update; cross-border trucking capacity cut

Increasing COVID case numbers in China are cutting cross-border trucking capacity, prompting carriers to drop calls at Hong Kong, raising fears that the city is losing shipping line favour as a transhipment hub. With almost one million people in lockdown in Wuhan, where COVID was first detecte... Read more

92% of Felixstowe port workers vote for August strike

The vote in favour of strike action in August, in a dispute over pay, would bring Felixstowe to a standstill and cause major disruption to port operations and road haulage transport of containers to and from terminals. The Unite Union’s 1900 members at the port voted overwhelmingly in favour... Read more