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.

Shipping line CEO sees signs of June recovery

An increase in Chinese manufacturing in May, combined with seasonal demand for summer products, and a need to replenish inventories are the basis for optimism by container lines serving Asia exports markets, according to Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE). The need for replenishm... Read more

Be more Oscar!

Metro colleague, Dani Jealous’ son has very sadly recently been diagnosed with Batten Disease, a rarely inherited condition that affects the nervous system and is a genetic life-limiting neurodegenerative disease. The genes causing Batten were only identified in 1995 and the only current med... Read more

The Metro team talk: Dave Jones

Metro has evolved continuously over the last four decades and Dave’s journey with us over the last two and a half, mirrors many of Metro’s evolutions, developments and innovations. Dave’s professional life began on the carrier side, with a container shipping line in Liverpool and Birming... Read more

Lines effectively write off 2020 peak season

It is clear that the container shipping lines are expecting weak demand to extend into the peak season, with the announcement of blank sailings for the third quarter global network schedule. In total 75 blank sailings have been announced for Q3. Maersk and MSC has announced the cancellation... Read more

Digital disruption is just noise

Digital disruptors will no more kill-off today’s forwarding sector than the advent of European rail did in the 1800s, according to director general of the British International Freight Association (BIFA), Robert Keen. This week Robert Keen (pictured) described comments from a ‘disrupter’... Read more

Apparel factories face closure

As millions of garment workers face uncertainty globally because of cancelled orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of the world’s leading clothing brands have yet to publicly claim financial responsibility for finished garments. Apparel factories in Bangladesh are still running at ... Read more

The Metro team talk: Linzi Barnes-Cox

We often talk about the need for resilient, agile and flexible supply chains. And while our leading-edge technology creates the environment to support those aspirations, it is colleagues like Linzi that make things happen. Linzi’s wide-ranging skills and capabilities have been honed over a d... Read more

Metro Offices – We’re Back!

The vast majority of Metro staff have been working successfully from home over the past 10 weeks and now we are returning to our offices, gradually and safely. As announced by the Government last week, the UK’s rate of infection has now reduced to below 1, meaning we can slowly begin to retu... Read more

Coronavirus hits car carrier fleet

With consumer and commercial automotive demand falling, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, specialised RORO car carriers are coming to terms with a pronounced downturn, with as many as one in three vessels projected to be idled in the coming months. Working in some of the most demanding ... Read more

Cargo crime fall expected to reverse

Cargo crime has fallen to new lows, as criminals have struggled to target goods in warehouses or trucks, during the lockdown, but a spike in cargo thefts is anticipated, as coronavirus lockdowns begin to be lifted across EMEA. The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) has releas... Read more

New Kuwait system for clearance certificates

The Public Authority for Industry of the State of Kuwait (PAI) has introduced a new online system for Importers to obtain a Clearance Certificate based on a valid Technical Inspection Report (TIR) All consignments of imported ‘Regulated Products’ are subject to conformity assurance procedu... Read more

BIFA add Metro to critical Brexit list

Whether or not the government manage to negotiate a FTA with the EU, the number of Customs declarations will rocket from the current 50m to 200-250m a year, with a further 125m security forms being processed every year. HMRC’s customs agent list is short by tens of thousands. HMRC have start... Read more