Newsletter – October 14, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Air cargo handling has become a ‘bottleneck’

lloydsloadinglist.com
A change in the ‘structure’ of air cargo triggered by Covid-19 and furthered by rapid e-commerce growth has led to cargo ground handling emerging as a ‘bottleneck’ in the overall air logistics supply chain, slowing transit times and causing congestion and delays at major airports. Read more here.

Air Canada grows transit flows as it prepares for arrival of freighter conversions

theloadstar.com
As the peak season kicks in, freighters cannot arrive fast enough into fleets, but quite a few operators will have to fly through part of the busiest time without these eagerly awaited assets.
Air Canada (AC) and Cargojet, Canada’s largest all-cargo carrier, are both awaiting converted B767-300ER cargo planes, and both have firm plans for the fleet additions. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Yantian, Hong Kong and Other Ports Closed as Tropical Storm Approaches

maritime-executive.com
Chinese officials issued warnings and ordered ports in the Shenzhen region to suspend operations as a strong tropical storm approached the region after bringing heavy rain to the Philippines. The storm named Kompasu is expected to pass south of Hong Kong overnight before moving west and coming ashore over northern Vietnam and moving into Cambodia by the end of the week. Read more here.

Walmart, UPS commit to use night hours at West Coast ports to smooth cargo flows

supplychaindive.com
President Joe Biden said the U.S. is looking to move its supply chain to one that can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting with the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“We have some good news: We’re going to help speed up the delivery of goods, all across America,” Biden said in remarks at the White House on Wednesday.  Read more here.

‘Canada’s supply chain is at risk’ warning, as congestion hits port of Vancouver

theloadstar.com
The brakes have been applied hard on traffic flows at the port of Vancouver.
In a matter of weeks, Canada’s premier ocean gateway has gone from a relatively fluid situation to serious congestion that has raised alarms that retailers could miss out in the peak shopping season. Read more here (login required).

Are today’s sky-high container freight rates fuelling inflation?

splash247.com
With containers piled high at ports around the world, especially on the transpacific between China and the US, regulators are keeping an eye on the situation with growing fears that the squeezed supply chains are directly fuelling inflation. However, just how much do today’s sky-high container freight rates and slower delivery times factor into inflation around the world and specifically in the US? Read more here.

GROUND FREIGHT UPDATES

Failing in the last mile? The problem may be in the middle mile

freightwaves.com
The last mile of delivery has become such an important part of an e-commerce customer’s journey that many shippers and retailers forget about a key part of that journey: the middle mile.
Visibility – of shipments and assets – in the middle mile provides the connectivity that makes tracking in the final mile possible and ensures a happy customer. Read more here.

Canada short 18,000 truck drivers in second quarter

trucknews.com
About 18,000 of Canada’s truck driving jobs were vacant in the second quarter of 2021, leaving 72% of surveyed employers to identify driver recruitment as a significant business challenge.
The results emerged Tuesday with the release of Trucking HR Canada’s latest labor market information update. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Recession ‘virtually guaranteed’ amid energy squeeze: Rosenberg

bnnbloomberg.ca
David Rosenberg said it’s growing increasingly likely Canada will fall into a period of recession in the near-term as the headwinds against the economy continue to stack up.
“Compounding all the other issues on the supply side globally is this energy squeeze we’re seeing,” said Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Rosenberg Research, in an interview Thursday. Read more here.

Lingering global supply-chain challenges resulting in months-long wait for appliances

cbc.ca
When Amy Studholme visited The Brick shortly after Boxing Day last year, she wouldn’t have imagined that nearly one year later, she’d still be without the appliances she ordered.
Studholme had ordered a fridge, a stove and a dishwasher. The stove arrived within a few weeks, she said, but turned out to be defective; she had to pay several hundred dollars more for another that was in stock. Her dishwasher only recently arrived at the store, but now she’s waiting on her fridge, so she can bring both of the appliances home at once. Read more here.