Category: Supply Chain

The anticipated equipment shortages in Asia are spreading as importers in the United States and Europe struggle to return empty containers to Asian manufacturing hubs, with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hit particularly hard. The container imbalance followed the spike in imports to the US an... Read more

After weeks of complaints from port users, shipping lines, hauliers and cargo owners, there is some hope that Felixstowe’s service levels may be improving, but similar challenges are now being experienced at other key container ports. After the recent well-documented service issues, delays,... Read more

October sees the launch of a new multimodal sea-rail service from Altynkol on the Chinese border, to Hamburg, boasting transit times of 12-14 days from Chongqing to Hamburg. The service, a strategic joint venture between Russian Railways subsidiary JSC and Frankfurt based Belintertrans (B... Read more

Container freight rates are at their highest levels in five years, Westbound Asia to Europe, driven by rocketing demand and the carriers manipulating capacity to create under or balanced supply, which allows the shipping lines to cherry-pick the best paying cargo and maintain rates at the st... Read more

The global air cargo sector is recovering alongside improving economic activity and while most regions are on an upward swing, at different paces, volumes in Latin America have struggled amidst challenging economic and health conditions. Despite growing uncertainty in COVID19 developments,&nbs... Read more

Formed in 1946, the African specialist shipping line Safmarine, which is represented in more than 130 countries, was acquired in 1999 by Maersk. Earlier this month Maersk announced that it was closing the Safmarine brand at the end of the year, integrating it into Maersk Line. What are the market... Read more

The ongoing congestion and industrial action at Sydney port, which caused schedule disruption to many carriers and prompted Maersk to stop acceptance of all bookings for the port, has been withdrawn. The move to withdraw industrial action at Sydney port, will bring relief to shippers and shipp... Read more

High vessel volumes, spikes in container throughput and diminished operational capability due to COVID safe-working is creating high yard density at the port, resulting in terminal-wide congestion which means vessels are unable to complete empty loading or have diverted to other ports, not loadin... Read more

Publisher and Events organiser, Akabo Media, is one of the most influential voices in supply chain, freight and logistics. Its annual Supply Chain Excellence awards uniquely feature clients and service providers, to emphasise the value and innovation delivered across the sector. Despite the ch... Read more

Port operations have been severely diminished and inland distribution massively disrupted by the coronavirus, lockdowns and safe-working practices, which delay the unloading of containers and repositioning of equipment back to China. As European importers struggle to return empty containers to... Read more

The perfect storm threatening container haulage  There is not an industry sector that has not been impacted to some extent by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even those deemed ‘essential’ have had to battle unprecedented economic and operational challenges, but few have felt the impact quite a... Read more

In a recent survey, reported by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), 41% of firms said that they have found “new and better” suppliers to work with as a direct result of coronavirus. The survey also found that 57% found the outbreak an “incentive” to ma... Read more