Newsletter – April 11, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

CargoAi helps customers to go paperless

aircargonews.net
CargoAi has launched a new feature to support its users with the transition to the electronic Air Waybill (eAWB).
The digital company said that from April 3 the 9,000 freight forwarders using CargoMART will be able to send FWB and FHL, once the booking is made, to more than 80 airlines. Read more here.

Carriers watch as Mexico’s airfreight volumes continue to grow

theloadstar.com
Unlike many of their international counterparts, Mexican airports have continued to process growing cargo volumes – and operators predict further expansion.
Throughput at Mexican airports climbed 5.2% in the first two months of this year, over the same period in 2022. Domestic volumes increased 1%, while international traffic rose 7.3%. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Tensions mount at US west coast box ports over labour talks

aircargonews.net
Tensions continue to mount at US west coast container terminals as carrier groups last week accused workers of withholding labour – something that in the past has resulted in a surge in air cargo demand.
Carrier group Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) said that on April 7 unions took concerted action to withhold labour at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, resulting in “widespread worker shortages”. Read more here.

OOCL’s Q1 numbers show storm clouds gathering over box shipping

theloadstar.com
The first evidence of the depth of the liner shipping freight rate correction comes with the Q1 operational numbers for OOCL, which revealed a 58% year-on-year slump in the carrier’s revenue.
Several weeks ahead of the financial earnings season publications from the other major carriers, OOCL’s data is regarded as a harbinger of the health of the container sector. Read more here.

Container lines still up vs. pre-COVID despite fall from peak

freightwaves.com
Early numbers on the first quarter are starting to trickle in from container shipping lines. They show a big step down from the fourth quarter, but they also confirm that earnings are still well above the pre-COVID “normal.”
Spot rates in the trans-Pacific eastbound market have collapsed, yet carriers continue to be shielded by annual contracts signed in 2022. Meanwhile, spot rates in the trans-Atlantic westbound market remain much higher than they were prior to the pandemic. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Industrial real estate cooling, but record low vacancy persists

insidelogistics.ca
As demand moderated and speculative construction completions persisted at a healthy rate, the industrial vacancy rate ticked slightly higher to 3.6 percent according to Cushman & Wakefield’s first quarter industrial report for 2023.
While the rate has risen each of the last two quarters, the market remains historically low – 70 basis points (bps) below the five-year quarterly average and 170 bps lower than the 10-year average – with many markets still yielding sub 3.0 percent vacancy rates. Read more here.