4-minute read
There is nothing like detention and demurrage charges that affect the relationships between shipping lines, importers, customs agents and freight forwarders. Over the years, the disputes were taken to tribunals and courts.
Therefore, there’s likely to be significant interest in a fascinating case currently going through the deliberation process by the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the US Government body that oversees competition in that country’s supply chain.
4-minute read
Returning disruptive elements in the supply chain to anything resembling normality will take a lot longer than shippers, freight forwarders, ports, and governments will hope. One of the key disruptors, schedule reliability, is in the spotlight.
Even though supply chain problems continue to plague the industry, it appears that COVID is now entering an endemic phase rather than a pandemic, says Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence.
As such, it is also the time to take stock and contemplate how long it will take the supply chain to normalise, he says.
3-minute read
Demand for air cargo increased by 6.9% in 2021, compared to 2019 (pre-COVID levels) and 18.7% compared to 2020, following a strong performance in December 2021, according to IATA data for global air freight markets.
This was the second biggest improvement in year-on-year demand since IATA started to monitor cargo performance in 1990 (behind the 2010s 20.6% gain), outpacing the 9.8% rise in global goods trade by 8.9 percentage points.
2-minute read
Carriers have traditionally used blank sailings as a tactical tool to manage supply to demand.
However, with the North American demand boom and the resulting port congestion, carriers have been struggling to meet their weekly vessel departure obligations, resulting in vessel delays, rolled schedules, and blank sailings.
2-minute read
According to a survey, almost all firms are raising freight procurement budgets, and some are doubling them amid spiralling shipping costs.
A report by Sleek Technologies said 97% of firms planned to increase freight procurement budgets in 2022 for reasons including better managing capacity, increased agility, bolstering cost management and delivering better overall results.
