News & Insights

Our alerts, news and guides embrace all transport modes and explore global developments across all aspects of the supply chain, to keep you informed and guide decision making.

Carriers stepping up Golden Week capacity cuts

For much of the last two years, container shipping lines have struggled to maintain sufficient capacity to meet demand, but in recent months demand has fallen away, which means that some vessels are not fully utilised, with carriers blanking more sailings and reducing supply u... Read more

Enhanced entity and expansion in India support continued growth of outsourced business services

For over 40 years, spanning five decades, Metro has been managing and transforming outsourced supply chains for leading manufacturers and distributors globally, supported by the development of international business process outsource (BPO) operations since 1998. By taking responsibil... Read more

Shippers brace for Felixstowe and Liverpool walkouts – a double whammy

Strikes at the key container ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool commenced at the latter on the 19th September and will continue to the beginning of October, with dates overlapping for maximum disruption. Dock workers began their planned two-week strike at Liverpool port on Monday, 19th Septembe... Read more

Air freight market update

With very few route exceptions, the air freight market from India and Asia to Europe has generally been softening for a couple of months, reflected also in the US market, with only African and South American routes bucking the trend. Lack of capacity continues to be an issu... Read more

Country update: Bangladesh

Bangladesh is an emerging economy, with the 41st largest economy in the world, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. It is one of the world's largest garment exporters and with its economy consistently among the fastest growing economies in the 21st century, it is on track to gr... Read more

Potentially disruptive rail strike averted in US, while, unfortunately, UK braces for more

President Biden’s administration has averted a rail strike that would have caused further issues within the country’s fragile supply chain infrastructure, while rail strikes will recommence  in the UK from October, following the recent deferment of the original a... Read more

New predictive tools for low-carbon supply chains; how Metro are delivering visibility

Considering that the world needs to accelerate its path to net zero carbon, we’re focused on creating valuable environmentally sustainable solutions, with new predictive tools that will enhance our shippers understanding of where their emissions are truly coming from, so they can buil... Read more

New trade system for developing countries

The Department for International Trade launched a new preferential trading scheme on the 15th August 2022. The Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) is intended to grow free and fair trade with 65 developing nations, with a combined market of more than 3.3 billion. The DCTS extends tariff... Read more

Threat of port strikes to Christmas

Dock workers at Felixstowe finished their first strike in over 30 years on Sunday, after members of the Unite union withdrew their labour for eight days in a dispute over pay, with Unite members at the Port of Liverpool announcing it is likely to follow suit within weeks. The&nb... Read more

US inland port will reduce pressure on Los Angeles and Long Beach

The Mojave Inland Port site is adjacent to the Mojave Air and Space Port, a fully operational airport capable of accommodating large cargo aircraft, with a Union Pacific rail line running through the site and the capacity to handle up to 3,600 trucks a day and three million containers per ye... Read more

Climate change forcing new unexpected factory closures in China

Just a few months after Shanghai emerged from the city-wide COVID lockdowns, which disrupted supply chains and forced factories to halt operations, manufacturers have been closed again, this time by the impact of climate change. A new challenge to Chinese production and sourcing. An inten... Read more

Pressure on the Pound (£) continues as FX markets slump

Sterling's sensitivity to global stock markets has it struggling against the Euro and Dollar and stabilisation in global market conditions, to stop the continued August falls, is unlikely in the short term, it is predicted. The Pound slumped sharply against both currencies as fears o... Read more