Category: Coronavirus

Driven by demand surges and equipment shortages contributing to capacity constraints, container freight rates are rising to 2020 highs as carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific implement the fourth GRI since the 1st June. Anticipating a continuation of weak demand, carriers blanked 63 sailing... Read more

When we saw supply chain challenges begin to rise in China, due to Coronavirus containment measures, there was no indication of the massive scale of Global disruption that would unfold in the coming months and how our customers in the medical sector have coped. The initial supply interruptions... Read more

Westbound Ocean Freight Capacity tightens as carriers turn screws and demand advanced bookings The unexpected surge in East and Westbound demand in June, exacerbated by carriers withdrawing close to half the market’s capacity in May, to match expected low demand saw China to North Europ... Read more

Falling rates makes sea/air a very attractive commercial option, at 50% of the cost of pure air freight, from the main manufacturing areas within the Indian Subcontinent and Far East/China. Over the last few weeks Far East air freight rates have continued to harden, as capacity has reduced fro... Read more

As we begin the economic recovery from COVD-19 lockdown, the shipping lines are increasing vessel calls through service changes, merging services together and varying transit times to maximise utilisation, which is disrupting port and haulage operations.  The increased load factors (numbe... Read more

In this unprecedented pandemic, trade is essential to save lives and livelihoods, which means supply chains need to operate at some level of normality, to keep that trade flowing. The OECD Interim Economic Outlook in March forecast global growth halved to 1.5%, but their most recent estimates ... Read more

Prior to the Coronavirus lockdown, Metro’s learning and development opportunities were expanding and a massive range of activity was in progress. Then bang! The Covid-19 grenade went off and other solutions were needed. As we went into March the Metro training team had a full calendar of act... Read more

Air freight rates from China are rising over the last two weeks, due to falling capacity as passenger-freighters are forced out of the market, due to unviable commercial return. Yield is just one of the reasons. The PAX carriers are also impacted by weak, if not nonexistent passenger demand, r... Read more

Effective training increases job satisfaction and morale. It provides motivation to the individual and increases efficiencies in processes for the business, while increasing the capacity of the wider team to adopt new technologies and methods. Metro believe that effective training creates comp... Read more

With automotive demand flat-lining in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the knock-on effects to global roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) shipping has been profound, with ships removed from service, or earmarked for recycling, raising doubts that the RoRo sector will recover fully. The backbone of glob... Read more

Aggressive capacity management has supported vessel load factors and freight rates during the pandemic, leaving unfortunate shippers to face lower service quality and cargo roll-overs as carriers favour higher-paying spot cargo. Despite significantly reduced bunker costs in the second quarter ... Read more

The coronvarius crew crisis is triggering ship detentions and diversions, that if not addressed effectively, will impact operations, create disruption and lead to price increases. Despite the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) calling on governments to designate marine personnel, as 'ke... Read more