NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER 13, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Maersk launches new Chicago airfreight gateway

aircargonews.net
Maersk has inaugurated a new Chicago airfreight gateway near Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) that is designed to offer direct planeside recovery with immediate transfers to the new facility.
The shipping giant, which launched Maersk Air Cargo in April, said the new facility also serves Maersk’s air cargo hub at Chicago’s Rockford International Airport. Read more here.

Heathrow plans switch to weight-based cargo charge

aircargonews.net
Heathrow Airport is proposing to change the way it charges for cargo, including the introduction of a new weight-based system.
Under a new proposal, both passenger aircraft carrying cargo and freighter aircraft will pay a new weight-based charge of £40 per metric tonne, although the airport hopes to offset this for passenger airlines through the reduction of other fees. Read more here.

Airfreight rates to stay above pre-Covid despite muted peak

aircargonews.net
Airfreight rates are expected to stay above pre-Covid levels for some time despite a muted peak season.
Over the last few months, air cargo rates have been falling, said senior analyst at investment bank Stifel Bruce Chan in the latest Baltic Exchange newsletter.
However, while they are expected to slip further given the economic outlook, he does not expect them to dip back below pre-Covid levels in the near term. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

MSC may be gearing up to be ‘master of its own destiny’, outside the 2M

theloadstar.com
According to Alphaliner data, MSC’s orderbook now stands at an eye-watering 1.76m teu, equivalent to the total capacity of the fifth-largest ocean carrier, Hapag-Lloyd.
The statistic has left some questioning the future of the 2M Alliance. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

CN, electrical workers union agree to labor contract

freightwaves.com
Canadian railway CN and the Canadian branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have a new labor contract at hand after having completed arbitration.
IBEW had threatened to go on strike at CN’s Canadian operations in June. Both parties subsequently entered into arbitration. Read more here.

Truckload market loosens again as tender rejections touch new low

freightwaves.com
By now, most industry observers and analysts agree that the U.S. truckload market has slowed significantly, part of a broader goods normalization and hangover in our COVID-recovery. Multiple spot rate benchmarks have been falling for months; capacity metrics have loosened. Accepted contract loads (CLAV.USA) peaked in October 2021 and just took a sharper turn downward. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Consumer sentiment could be setting up retailers for gloomy holiday

freightwaves.com
Global inflation may finally be taking its toll on consumers.
A new survey of more than 8,000 consumers and 800 merchants in eight countries found that holiday shopping will be muted this year, with as much as $46 billion in total being cut from spending budgets. Read more here.

Mexico replaces Canada as No. 1 US trade partner in August

freightwaves.com
Mexico ranked as the United States’ top trading partner in August, accounting for $70.3 billion in cross-border commerce according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
It marks the first time Mexico has been the No. 1 trading partner of the U.S. since January. Canada ranked No. 2, as its total trade with America was $70.04 billion in August, and China rated third with $63.2 billion. Read more here.