Newsletter – August 10, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Mexico’s Navy To Take Control Of Mexico City International Airport In 60 Days

simpleflying.com
Mexico City International Airport (MEX) is set to undergo a change in management, transitioning to the hands of the country’s Navy. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has signed an agreement that will see the MEX, along with the Mexico City Airport Group (GACM) and Mexico City Airport Services, being operated by the Secretariat of the Navy. This move, attributed to concerns about security, is expected to take effect within the next 60 calendar days. Read more here

Shenzhen Airport takes aim at e-commerce as volumes soar

aircargonews.net
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport’s cross border e-commerce volumes doubled in the first seven months of the year and it expects a further increase in the final five months thanks to the addition of more freighter flights.
The Chinese airport handled a total of 93,000 tonnes of cross-border e-commerce traffic between January and July – up 101% year on year – thanks in part to the addition last year of a Beoing 777 freighter flight jointly operated by Central Airlines and e-commerce logistics firm YunExpress. Read more here

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

‘Look to costs’ says Hapag-Lloyd CEO, as freight rates are ‘unsustainable’

theloadstar.com
Hapag-Lloyd saw its second-quarter net profit slump 77% on the previous year, to $1.1bn, despite benefiting from a bottom line boost of $212m from interest and other financial items.
“Weaker demand and lower freight rates are having a noticeable impact on our earnings,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen this morning, adding that freight rates on some tradelanes were “unsustainable”. Read more here (login required).

What the TEU tea leaves are telling us

freightwaves.com
There’s new data out on China, and some people say they are “shocked” and “surprised” the country’s manufacturing is hurting. At this point, you want to ask businesspeople who admit this if they are living under a rock. Since June 2022, manufacturing orders have been down 30%-40%.
We are now in peak season and, as all logistics data has shown, it is not going to be stellar. This year’s logistics cycle should be called “peaked season.” Read more here

Shippers look for alternatives as Panama Canal delays lengthen

splash247.com
Shippers are now actively rearranging Asian shipments, moving back from the US east coast to the west coast, as the full ramifications of the Panama Canal’s prolonged reduced operational capacity hits home.
Facing what it has described as an “unprecedented” drought, the Panama Canal Authority has shaved a couple of metres off its maximum draft for its neopanamax locks whereby ships transiting can only go through the waterway with a 13.41 m depth and the number of daily transits has been slashed by 20% to 32 a day – measures that are expected to be in place into the new year as the El Niño weather phenomenon is likely to bring more dry weather. Read more here

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Today’s freight fraudsters are sophisticated, brazen, and coming for your cargo

trucknews.com
Rob Hoffman was no rookie when it came to the freight business, and an unlikely mark for dubious brokers and carriers. So, the chief operating officer of Tampa, Fla.-based Dedicated Carriers was as surprised as anyone when he found himself at the center of a double-brokering cargo theft fiasco, which may have cost his company a major customer. Read more here