July 2022 Freight Forwarder Update

Supply chains have dealt with unprecedented delays over the past few years, and while things are nowhere near back to normal, there was an increased level of anticipation that things were heading in the right direction.

It seems that hoped for future might not be in the cards thanks to new regulations around green shipping initiatives. Partly because shipping companies don’t have clear insights into what fuels to use in the future, so they’ll continue to operate using older vessels. If so, they need to make sure those vessels are more efficient, which could translate into lowering the speed they sail at—meaning slower shipping times.

Click to Read: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/ships-get-older-and-slower-as-emissions-rules-bite

Shipping costs have soared since 2020, some reports saying as much as up to 300%, to the point where increased costs surpass the profit from goods. All of this started with the pandemic, but global tensions, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are making their mark on the industry. Nearly every European port has stopped handling containers to or from Russia.

Click to Read: https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/global-cargo-shortage-how-iron-boxes-became-money-magnets/

For some good—or at least better—news, the latest report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) shows January to June 2022 has had the lowest incident rate of piracy since 1994.

The 58 incidents—compared to 68 in the same time period last year—included 55 boardings, two attempts, and a single hijack. However, it’s not the time to be complacent, given the high number of boardings, many of which were in the Gulf of Guinea as well as in the Singapore Strait.

Click to Read: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ship-operations/piracy-incidents-hit-28-year-low

There’s been a lot of talk lately about super-sized container ships and a bigger is better mentality. But this year, at least in commodity trades, it’s smaller ships that are outperforming.

Click to Read: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/in-topsy-turvy-commodity-trades-small-ships-outperform-big-ships

Finally, in air cargo news, Shanghai is reporting that it’s business as usual for their airfreight market, despite another troubling rise in COVID numbers. However, delays could be an issue.

Click to Read: https://www.aircargonews.net/business/supply-chains/shanghai-airfreight-operations-stable-for-now-as-covid-cases-creep-up/