Newsletter – March 10, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Boeing Begins To Bounce Back: Orders Outpace Cancellations

simpleflying.com
After a couple of poor years, it seems that Boeing is beginning to make its comeback when it comes to aircraft orders. Indeed, in February, the airline posted its first net-increase in orders since November 2019 following a wave of cancellations prompted by the 737 MAX grounding. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

North American port congestion shows no sign of easing

splash247.com
There’s no let up in the port congestion plaguing North American gateway ports.
Changed buying patterns brought about by the pandemic have brought extreme consumer demand into North America. This combined with Covid outbreaks at local dockworking forces and a shortage of container equipment have created what many liner executives have described as the perfect storm in recent weeks.
Splash has surveyed the 10 largest container ports in North America today using vessel tracking site MarineTraffic and picked out the four ports with the biggest vessel backlogs.
More than 30 ships are anchored in San Pedro Bay (see map below left), waiting to berth at Los Angeles and Long Beach, the queue stretching 20 km down the coastline. Read more here.

Now 2M cuts delay-hit port of Liverpool from calls on transatlantic loop

theloadstar.com
The UK port of Liverpool will see calls by the 2M transatlantic loop it won from Felixstowe at the end of last year suspended until mid-May, as Maersk and MSC grapple to improve schedule reliability.
The 2M alliance said that, as a result of bad weather in the North Atlantic compounded by port congestion, it will temporarily suspend the Liverpool and New York calls of its TA2/NEUATL2 transatlantic loop for six and nine weeks, respectively. Read more here (login required).

U.S. Reefer Carriers are Rejecting Half of Tenders

freightwaves.com
In the U.S. reefer market today, reefer carriers are rejecting 50.3% of tendered loads, up from 40% in early February and up from 10% at this time last year. So, as concerning as tight transportation markets are for shippers that don’t need temperature controls, those that do are in far worse shape. Read more here.

Electric stacking cranes enter service at Port of Long Beach

ajot.com
SSA Marine is now operating the first of nine electric container yard cranes at the Port of Long Beach’s Pier J, marking a significant milestone in a goal to transition to zero emissions terminal equipment by 2030. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL UPDATES

Driver shortage crisis a ‘demographic time-bomb’ that will get worse, says IRU

theloadstar.com
industry this year, according to new research from the International Road Transport Union (IRU).

The Geneva-headquartered organisation yesterday published the results of its latest survey, of around 800 trucking firms in more than 20 countries, which shows that while driver shortages eased in some parts of the world last year, elsewhere they grew. Read more here (login required.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS- GOVERNMENT UPDATES

NRF: U.S. Container Port Traffic Expected to Grow Dramatically

freightwaves.com
Record retail sales and continued inventory restocking provide the backdrop for the National Retail Federation’s increased expectations for inbound containers. On Monday, the group raised its forecast for first-half 2021 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) landing at major container ports in the U.S. to 23.3% year-over-year.
Final January numbers showed TEUs came in 13% higher year-over-year at 2.06 million, the busiest January in the dataset’s nearly 20-year history. Read more here.

How IATA’s Travel Pass Will Help Eliminate Vaccine Certificate Fraud

simpleflying.com
With vaccinations and COVID test status being paper-based in so many countries, the potential for fraud and fakery is high. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that its Travel Pass could ‘all but eliminate’ this problem by providing verified, secure status proof that is tied to our digital identity. But without global recognition of a standard like the Travel Pass, successful resumption of widespread travel remains in jeopardy. Read more here.

China Begins To Roll Out Its Own COVID Vaccine Passport

simpleflying.com
China is rolling out an international COVID-19 vaccine passport they hope will get global recognition and open up travel again. The vaccination passport is available in hardcopy and digital formats to Chinese citizens. The Chinese Government is also keen for other countries to get onboard. But whether China’s vaccination certificate flies is a whole other matter. Read more here.