Newsletter: April 14, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Delta Air Lines eyes cargo surge after Shanghai lockdown eases

freightwaves.com
Delta Air Lines’ cargo business benefited during the first quarter from supply chain disruptions that pushed shipments to the tight air market. The latest logistics gridlock in Shanghai, where authorities are enforcing a citywide COVID lockdown, could fuel even more growth, a top executive said.
Reduced industry capacity drove a significant increase in cargo yield, helping generate $289 million in cargo revenue during the period ended March 31 – up 51% from the 2019 benchmark, the company reported Wednesday. It generated record cargo revenue in March. Read more here. 

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

World’s largest inland port becomes latest victim of China’s zero-Covid strategy

splash247.com
Trucking snarl-ups across China are wreaking havoc on supply chains despite initiatives from local and national government bodies to alleviate the situation while Nanjing, the largest inland port in the world, has become the latest port to report a Covid outbreak among its workforce leading to much of the port’s operations along the Yangtze being shuttered. Yangtze River traffic was already suffering from a shortage of pilots prior to the Nanjing port news, while many other cities in the river delta area have joined Shanghai in lockdown this week. Read more here. 

Colombo port claims normal operations amid Sri Lanka economic turmoil

seatrade-maritime.com
Congestion had built up at the South Asian transhipment hub as the country plunged into an economic crisis with power outages, food shortages and political protests leading to a three-day curfew. Inter-terminal transfers in the port were hit by fuel shortages.
In a video released by the Sri Lankan Port Authority (SLPA), which can be viewed above terminal operators sought to reassure customers that it continued to operate normally. Read more here. 

All Japanese ports to close for 24 hours on Sunday

splash247.com
Workers at every Japanese port will down tools for 24 hours this Sunday with no ships to be worked on across the archipelago, the world’s third largest economy.
Every year around February to April, Japan enters Shunto, the spring wage offensive, where unions and employers wrestle over salaries. Read more here. 

As transport stocks sink, Los Angeles port volumes soar

freightwaves.com
Fear of the supply chain crisis is fading. Transport stocks are crashing. Yet an enormous amount of cargo is still flooding into U.S. ports.
On Tuesday, the Port of Los Angeles reported better-than-expected volumes for March — it was the port’s best March ever, the fourth-best month in its history, and it capped the best-ever first quarter.
Total throughput was 958,674 twenty-foot equivalent units, topped only by May 2021, October 2020 and August 2020. First-quarter throughput was 1.8 million TEUs, up 3.5% from last year’s record January-March. Read more here. 

Durban port gradually restarts operations after floods

splash247.com
South Africa’s logistics group Transnet gradually resumed operations at its Durban port on Wednesday morning after severe flooding in KwaZulu-Natal province, which resulted in port operations being suspended as a precautionary measure.
The country’s department of public enterprises (DPE) said it is working with Transnet and stakeholders, including the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, eThekwini municipality and the country’s power utility Eskom to stabilise operations at the port. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucker protests expand at U.S.-Mexico border over lengthy wait times

reuters.com
MEXICO CITY, April 12 (Reuters) – Mexican truck drivers blockaded bridges at the U.S. border for a second day on Tuesday to protest an order by the Texas governor meant to increase safety inspections that has snarled traffic and led business groups to warn of supply chain disruptions. Read more here. 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Lockdowns spread in China as Shanghai measures could ease in May

aircargonews.net
Shanghai lockdown measures that are impacting airfreight operations in the city and putting pressure on supply chains are expected to continue for the next two to three weeks.
This is according to Flexport, which warned that although there is light at the end of the tunnel for Shanghai, cities near Shanghai are also seeing a rise in Covid cases and some areas have begun implementing similar lockdown measures. Read more here.