Preparing for Chinese New Year: Avoiding supply chain disruption in 2025
Chinese New Year (CNY) is a time of celebration across China but presents significant challenges for shippers and careful planning is essential to navigate the disruption effectively.
In 2025, the holiday officially runs from 29th January to 4th February, with its effects on production and log...
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Shipping lines blank sailings from Asia to support rates
Container carriers operating between Asia, Europe, and the United States are leaning heavily on blank sailings to manage capacity and stabilise freight rates amidst ongoing market challenges.
With a significant proportion of scheduled sailings cancelled, this strategy has become a defining fea...
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New alliances reshape East-West trade container shipping
Container shipping faces a transformative year in 2025, as key East-West and transatlantic shipping routes are set for substantial realignment, with the dissolution of existing alliances and the formation of new ones.
Carriers are optimising their networks to enhance competitiveness and meet t...
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Air freight surges from Asia to Europe while trans-Pacific faces regulatory hurdles
As peak season ramps up, air cargo from Asia to Europe is experiencing strong growth, largely driven by rising demand for eCommerce, while new scrutiny on duty exemptions has led to a significant drop in air cargo volumes from Asia to the United States.
In October, tonnage from Hong Kong to Eu...
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Strengthening Global Network to Address Supply Chain Challenges
Metro’s strategic partner network is central to delivering market-leading logistics services, especially as global supply chains face ongoing challenges. With the appointment of Peter Orange as head of global network development, Metro is deepening its commitment to building robust partnerships...
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Air freight surges as supply chains feel the pressure
The air freight sector, which is already experiencing a demand spike in many regions, is anticipating another surge as the strikes at US East and Gulf Coast ports are likely to fuel even more demand on the time-sensitive mode.
With more than half of US containerised volumes moving through East...
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Supply chains brace for more disruption as storm season intensifies
From wildfires and floods to scorching heatwaves, the consequences of climate change are becoming more pronounced, and as we enter the peak shipping season, businesses are scrambling to prepare for what is predicted to be one of the most disruptive storm seasons in recent memory.
So far in 202...
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Air cargo under pressure as peak season looms
With capacity already strained and further challenges expected from potential labour strikes and reduced belly capacity in the final quarter, shippers are under increasing pressure to secure cargo space ahead of the peak season.
Strong demand
According to IATA’s latest figures global air ca...
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Challenges in ocean freight: Capacity, congestion, and resilience
The ongoing disruption in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which started with the hijacking of a vessel nearly ten months ago, has led to a substantial reduction in available container vessel capacity, driving up freight rates, intensifying port congestion, and exacerbating equipment shortages.
T...
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Asia westbound market update
Air and sea freight from Asia continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth, fuelled by robust demand, strategic capacity management, and dynamic trade routes, with India recording significant increases, driven by pro-industry government initiatives, eCommerce, and manufacturing growt...
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Record volumes raise concerns for peak season
Global demand for ocean freight container shipping has surged to unprecedented levels, surpassing even the peak during the Covid pandemic and comes when available capacity is already strained due to diversions around Africa, leading to concerns that any peak season demand could be calamitous.
...
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Global IT outage disrupts supply chains
On Friday, a faulty update to Microsoft software by cyber-security firm Crowdstrike, saw global supply chain operations significantly disrupted, with the fallout expected to take weeks to fully resolve.
Thousands of flights were grounded or delayed at major air freight hubs in Europe, Asia, an...
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