Category: Supply Chain

Low-sulphur fuel container ship bunker prices have increased by a third since Russia’s move on Ukraine, with bunker surcharges rising around 15% and expected to spike further with crude oil hitting new highs of more than double the price at the beginning of the year. Expect the carriers to c... Read more

From the 1st April 2022, importers, will be expected to pay tax on any plastic packaging over 10 tonnes, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic, with penalties for those that fail to pay, declare, or register for the tax. Not a lot of people know that. But there is a potentially h... Read more

When global supply chains finally start to return to some form of normality, which many hope to see in the second half of the year, carriers face more headaches, with an avalanche of empty containers predicted to cause chaos. Who would have thought it? Full year 2021 demand for sea freigh... Read more

The Felicity Ace - which has not sadly sunk - was en-route from Germany to the USA, with 4,000 Volkswagen AG vehicles aboard, when it caught fire near the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean last week. The  Portuguese Air Force were the first to arrive at the stricken vessel, air-lifting of... Read more

Tensions have soared in recent months in Eastern Europe as Russia massed soldiers and heavy weapons at its border with Ukraine, raising fears of an invasion and the potential to cause even more global supply chain disruption. High-stake talks between Russia and the West have so far failed to d... Read more

We are taking all necessary steps to secure capacity, to protect our customers’ air and sea freight needs through expanded carrier relationships and selected charter deals. Even against the background of low capacity and record-breaking spot rates, airlines and shipping lines, for a variety ... Read more

Air freight has been hit particularly hard by the spread of COVID and the more recent Omicron variant, with governments shutting down routes at short notice and schedules in disarray as flight crews and ground staff are unavailable because of infection, or quarantine. The most significant and ... Read more

In yet another headache for shippers to and from the United States a widespread winter storm hit the central US and East Coast last week adding a new layer of disruption to supply chains beset by labour shortages, delays moving imports inland, and a general lack of warehousing and storage space. ... Read more

Leading shipping line, Maersk, has decided to focus on its largest volume customers, in a move that jeopardises the future of SME forwarders and leaves many shippers potentially exposed. It is widely reported in the trade press, that small and medium-sized freight forwarders fear for thei... Read more

The lockdowns and restrictions that China’s zero-Covid strategy risk, may create greater disruption than earlier waves of the pandemic, threatening already stretched global supply chains. Beijing’s strict zero-Covid policy has curbed local outbreaks with mass testing, snap lockdowns, vigil... Read more

With global shipping schedule reliability at a six-year low and just 33% of ships arriving on time, during a chaotic year for container shipping, Metro Shipping is enhancing its MVT supply chain platform, with even greater scrutiny of real-time vessel tracking. The ability of vessels to h... Read more

Many companies believe that the logical response to Covid disruption is to shorten supply chains, but a new academic study suggests longer supply chains may actually provide more innovation and economic benefit. A team of academics from the University of Oxford and Harvard University found sup... Read more