News & Insights

Over 300 vessels, the most in the history of container shipping, are currently waiting for berths around the globe, as the industry continues to struggle with the operational impacts of COVID-19 and sustained demand at unprecedented levels. While we have reported many times on port congestion,... Read more

With the container shipping lines imposing yet another round of general rate increases (GRI), FAK (freight all kind) rates from China are looking at passing $20,000 per 40’ container, while calls are rising for the industry to be regulated as a utility to prevent it restricting capacity an... Read more

With increased support from key carrier partners, Metro has recommenced routing air freight traffic directly to our Birmingham Airport hub, from key Middle East and Asia origins, as well as trucking consignments directly from southern airports and mainland Europe. Alongside Heathrow, Gatwick a... Read more

Despite the tariff-free deal agreed with the EU, up to £3.5bn of British exports have already had taxes applied and the US has introduced new tariffs worth $2bn on European goods, including products from the UK. British goods worth billions of pounds, accounting for about 10% of British expor... Read more

The mass departure of EU lorry drivers from the UK since Brexit has left hauliers facing an acute staff shortage of qualified drivers, that has been compounded by a backlog of driving tests due to the pandemic and is a looming crisis for the UK transport industry, with an impact on container mo... Read more

Monitored ocean Freight all Kinds (FAK) rates rose yet again this week from their already record-high levels, across all major East-West trades, up 518% on their level a year ago into Northern Europe and expected to remain on the higher side due to port congestion, huge demand and lack of e... Read more

Current supply and demand dynamics will maintain elevated prices through peak season and into 2022, with analysts predicting systemic market changes that will keep rates at an elevated level in the long term. The rate of air freight rate growth has slowed on many routes, since peaking at the b... Read more

While some container shipping lines will continue calling at Yantian, other carriers have already diverted ships as the port’s operations have deteriorated, with Maersk warning that delays are now expected to last two weeks. The Yantian congestion is yet another disruption to global shipping... Read more

Congestion levels at the major North America container gateways is expected to continue into the summer, as container imports from Asia grew a massive 31% year on year. With 1.57m teu arriving at US ports from Asia last month, the highest level on record, the container import boom shows no sig... Read more

Last Wednesday, Switzerland announced its withdrawal from negotiations on closer ties with the EU, after failing to reach agreement on wages and immigration. The move by the Swiss government to withdraw from negotiations on a single encompassing “framework agreement” may result i... Read more

If this was a typical year, we’d be approaching the start of the peak season for sea freight and the shipping lines would be preparing a round of general rate increases (GRI), but this year is anything but typical and even with demand soaring way beyond any typical peak period and freight rates... Read more

As Yantian announces further reductions in container gate-in times, to try and alleviate congestion, shipping lines are skipping calls at Chinese ports, with the mission to improve schedule reliability and equipment availability. The partial shutdown of Yantian International Containe... Read more