Newsletter – May 12, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Summer capacity boom hits airfreight rates

aircargonews.net
With the start of Northern Hemisphere airline summer schedules at the start of April, the addition of additional services has meant the addition of significantly more bellyhold capacity in the market.
In fact, industry analyst CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta, has reported that “a flood of summer bellyhold capacity on major lanes”, coupled with a 4% drop in demand in April, means that the industry is facing a challenging four or five months. Read more here.

Japan Airlines to bring back dedicated cargo fleet

theloadstar.com
Japan Airlines is going back to the future. Thirteen years after getting rid of its freighter business as part of a bankruptcy reorganisation, the passenger carrier is reintroducing a dedicated cargo fleet in a strategic move to “capitalise on growth opportunities in the cargo and mail sectors”. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Hapag-Lloyd: Higher costs will inevitably push up shipping rates

freightwaves.com
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest shipping line, posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2023, with freight rates averaging $3,998 per forty-foot equivalent unit, 85% above pre-COVID levels.
“Volumes remained subdued as the inventory correction starting in the second half of last year continued, but the numbers started to look a little better toward the end of the quarter,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen on Thursday’s conference call. Read more here.

2M ‘go-slow’ and massive capacity injection lights Asia-Europe touchpaper

theloadstar.com
Next month, 2M partners MSC and Maersk will deploy nine extra vessels on their Asia-Europe services, an injection of capacity in a period of weak demand that may unleash a ferocious race-to-the-bottom freight war on the tradelane. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucking could — maybe — become less volatile

freightwaves.com
The trucking industry is known for its volatility. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, nearly 9,000 trucking authorities shuttered.
However, shippers — the parties that use trucking services, such as retailers and manufacturers — seem increasingly fed up with the chaos. While most are slashing how much they’re willing to spend on trucking services in their annual contracts, some aren’t cutting as deep as they could, as executives from four companies told FreightWaves. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMETN – BUSINESS UPDATES

Foxconn expands its footprint in India, as shippers are lured from China

theloadstar.com
India’s position as an attractive, viable manufacturing centre seems to be strengthening, as global manufacturers – including Foxconn – increasingly search for alternatives to China.
In a shot in the arm for the emerging market, the major Apple supplier has acquired a 300-acre land parcel in Karnataka state – touted as India’s IT hub – investing some $37m in a new mobile manufacturing plant. Read more here (login required).