Freight Market Update - Week of September 3, 2021

• Shanghai airport situation continues to cause strain to global supply chains
• Category 4 hurricane Ida causes airport and port closings, roadblocks, rail operations halts, power outages, flooding and curfew in the Southern US
• Shortages of reefer containers and vessels in South American ports affects exporters of perishable goods
• Rail and ocean backlogs continue in the US

Air

• US volume to China is facing backlogs due to reduced flight capacity
• Due to Hurricane Ida, all flights out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport have been cancelled since Monday, August 30
• Airline have announced more routes from/to Canada after government announced plans to open its borders

Ocean

• The Port of New Orleans remained closed Tuesday as a widespread power outage in the region is keeping operations from returning to normal after Hurricane Ida. There are three ships that are waiting at anchor, while two others are seeking alternative ports.
• The congestion in California is breaking records, and the imports still haven't peaked. The U.S. congestion crisis continues to grow, will probably worsen in the upcoming weeks.

Air

• LATAM airlines announced plans to increase flights from Sao Paulo to Madrid and to resume its operations to Barcelona

Ocean

• Some ocean carriers have stopped accepting bookings to the West Coast from Latin American ports, which will limit available capacity
• Shortages of reefer containers and vessels bypassing South American ports are increasingly affecting exporters of perishable goods in the region. Heavily impacted business include meat processing plants in Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay

Air

• Shippers and forwarders are facing delays of up to seven days on air cargo shipments from Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The situation is expected to ease in early September
• SkyCell, the manufacturer of innovative hybrid pharmaceutical containers, has partnered with All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan's largest airline, to help support pharmaceutical customers shipping in and out of Japan

Ocean

• There has been a constant increase in the container lines on the Asia-US trades (by double-digit percentages). Port congestion in Asia and the U.S. exceeds the actual capacity available to shippers, keeping upward pressure on rates
• The Asia-U.S. container market is in facing a very difficult situation. The capacity of ships, ports, trucks, rail and warehouses can't satisfy the high demand that the market is facing. For that reason, trans-Pacific rates have increased moderately

Air

• The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) extended rules allowing passenger aircraft to be used as temporary freighters until 2022
• New Italian cargo carrier Aliscargo has started flying twice-weekly to China

Ocean

• APAC Westbound: Equipment and space challenges continue. It is recommended to pre-book around a month before scheduled departure
• Transatlantic Westbound: Impacts of Hurricane Ida on the U.S. Gulf Coast can cause delays for European shipments. Equipment availability remains tight. It is recommended to pre-book around a month before scheduled departure
  
  

Air

• Due to new restrictions from Pakistan blocking trade from New Delhi and Afghanistan, Kabul and India have been forced to open air corridors
• The Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is facing issues with construction works and high export demand. Transportation has backed up, with around 200 vehicles queueing for entry
• According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, in July 2021, Middle Eastern carriers posted an 11.3% rise in international cargo volumes compared to July 2019

Ocean

• King Abdullah Port has been ranked among the top 100 container ports in the world
• China’s port closures have impacted trade for India, leading to a shortage of empty containers and shipment delays

• New or modified FDA import alerts have been posted. You can get more details on the newly added items here

• According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices filed in several U.S. states, the pandemic has led freight-related businesses to eliminate a total of nearly 1,400 jobs
• The European Union has proposed new travel restrictions on unvaccinated visitors from the US
• In Belgium, COVID cases have risen, resulting in strict restrictions for returning travelers and high-risk contacts
• Portugal has started to allow Brazilian tourists to enter the country, following the lead of neighbors Germany and Spain