Road transport supply chains under threat
As the first wave of the COVID pandemic took hold in March the International Road Transport Union IRU estimated a decline in global road transport activity of up to 20% and a global loss in operator revenues of up to $1 trillion.
Despite maintaining supply chains, especially for essentials suc...
Read more Shippers switching to air to escape sea freight hell
With sea freight rates reaching some of the highest levels ever seen, along with equipment shortages, late vessels and still no guarantee of uplift, some shippers are starting to switch to air, driving up rates on a mode that had been enjoying some stability.
The current lack of container line...
Read more National press highlight Felixstowe port chaos
With disruption at the Port of Felixstowe branded “a mess”, the national press is now also reporting on global port disruption, as retailers express concerns about product shortages in the run-up to Christmas.
As Metro has been reporting regularly in recent weeks, the impact at Felix...
Read more Critical situation: Vessels skipping UK ports on daily basis
Container ships, including the world’s largest, are skipping UK ports entirely, or leaving only partially discharged and without collecting export containers, in what is fast becoming a daily occurrence.
COVID-safe working practices and extensive deep-cleaning at shift handovers, continues t...
Read more Strong air freight demand expected to continue
Even as England enters a four-week lockdown and the rest of the UK operate under strict restrictions, consumer activity will continue to be strong, driving further air freight demand.
Air freight rates from China continue to rise, as the peak season continues and distressed sea freight is incr...
Read more Felixstowe in the news again – for all the wrong reasons
The start of the working week and the Port of Felixstowe is back in the news, for cancelling empty container restitutions (again), but the challenges facing shippers run much farther afield than Suffolk.
The Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen has issued a customer notice stating that ...
Read more Inbound freight situation update
The UK’s supply chains are facing unparalleled challenges and some links are buckling under the strain. The following is a transcript of a customer advisory issued by Metro Shipping on Tuesday……..
The COVID pandemic continues to impact global and domestic freight in the most profound way...
Read more Metro in lockdown (again)
From today, England enters a new national lockdown, meaning that everyone who can work effectively from home must do so, excluding those working in essential services, including the supply chain, who may continue to go into work.
As in the earlier lockdown period, Metro will divide home ...
Read more Trans-Pacific demand impacting Europe trade
The large numbers of empty containers stranded in Europe, due to blanked sailings, has led to equipment shortages in Asia, which is being exacerbated by shipping lines diverting empties to more profitable trans-pacific services.
On the 10th September we reported how UK port operations had been...
Read more Rates – reliability = frustrated shippers
Container shipping rates from Asia to Europe have soared to a five year high, while reliability falls to the lowest ever level recorded.
The rapid recovery in post-lockdown demand has driven up volumes on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades, with global volume rising for the first time th...
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