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.

Montreal Port strike threatens more North America disruption

The ongoing labour dispute, which resulted in 19 days of strikes last summer, has escalated sharply in recent days, with shippers diverting cargo through Halifax and other ports. Tension was already building when the seven-month truce, after last summer’s strike, ended in late March, with ... Read more

Record Asia imports driving US supply chain disruption

Nine consecutive months of record breaking imports from Asia together with global supply chain volatility and uncertainty, is congesting US terminals and choking the inland supply chain infrastructure.  Booming US imports from Asia accelerated even further in March, to 1.66 million TEU, u... Read more

Conflicting UK and European port performance reports this week

While many ports are currently experiencing no issue, or are even quiet, the fallout of the week-long Suez Canal closure in March is likely to impact supply chains through to June and possibly beyond, into the traditional peak season. Early indications suggest some ports are managing ... Read more

View from the coast – I see no ships!

Last weekend may be the first one our Transport Manager, Simon Balfe, hasn’t seen a Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) on a berth at Felixstowe, but that hasn’t deterred the port from investing in its capacity to handle more of these gargantuan craft. Many of which are en-route, bu... Read more

India and Bangladesh enter new lockdowns, impacting supply chains

Having just come through a full weekend lockdown, Maharashtra state (location of the major port of Nava Sheva) government imposed lockdown-like curbs, including curfews, in the state from 8pm on 14th April for the next 15 days for everything but essential services, which includes transport, suppl... Read more

Many UK exporters continuing to struggle with European trade post Brexit

Despite the UK economy edging 0.4% higher in February, helped by a partial rebound in trade with the EU as exporters learnt to deal with new Brexit border restrictions, many more are having to dramatically change their business model, or have simply stopped exporting to the bloc. In ... Read more

Global ports likely to face weeks of ‘critical’ delays

Terminal operations and supporting infrastructure at the most important mainland European and UK ports will be put under immense pressure over the next four weeks, as they try to work through the backlog of 1.9m teu delayed by the six-day Suez Canal closure. Over 370,000 teu is currently en ro... Read more

Air freight demand returns but space remains an issue

The latest air cargo figures from the International Air Transport Association, the trade association of the world's airlines, shows that while demand is growing ahead of pre-Covid levels, capacity is impeding growth and keeping prices far above the pre-pandemic levels. Measuring air freight de... Read more

Ever Given, General Average declared, and vessel arrested by the Suez Canal Authority to recover $1 billion compensation

The 400m long vessel blocked the canal for six days and more than a dozen tug boats, multiple dredgers and 800 personnel were used in the recovery operation, with Egyptian authorities reportedly seeking more than $1 billion in damages to cover these costs and the loss of canal revenue. Th... Read more

Carriers tackle post-Suez scheduling and equipment issues

As global shipping struggles to adjust from the Ever Given grounding and the six day Suez Canal closure, container carriers have the challenge of recovering schedules and repositioning containers due to the effect of over a week’s loss of capacity. With close to... Read more

Lloyds List: Sometimes, no publicity really is bad publicity

Shipping executives had an opportunity to be front and centre in the international news cycle and deliver an important message about how trade works. Instead, they chose to hide in the shadows. Complaints about sea blindness will not be taken seriously next time they matter. A week-long shut d... Read more

Security surcharge on air cargo trucked from UK to EU gateway airports

Airlines are imposing security charges for cargo arriving from the UK on road feeder services for flights out of European hub airports. Following the end of the post-Brexit transition period in January, EU law no longer recognises feeder trucked cargo from the UK as air cargo secure, and requi... Read more