Transport Update 3rd November

Welcome to the Zencargo weekly freight market update – the latest news from our freight and procurement teams on the real experience of shippers.

This week: The 4th China International Import Expo, China’s power outages continue

• Ocean

• Air

• Road

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In focus: The 4th China International Import Expo

The 4th China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai from November 5th – 10th. A total of 58 countries and 3 international organisations will participate in the national exhibition, and nearly 3,000 exhibitors from 127 countries and regions will present in the enterprise exhibition.

Shanghai is about to enter a tight state of preparation. The East China Administration has suspended new cargo flights in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, cancelling a large number of flights. Due to the Shanghai International Import Expo, no approval will be given for flights before November 13th.

Ocean

Asia 

1.     US market

• • All preighters to Shanghai airport will be cancelled from 1st November – 10th November due to the China International Import Expo. This means further reduction in capacity coming out of China. It is expected that rates will rise even further from this week
  • Strict control measures at PVG airport have resulted in 40% flights being cancelled for the next month. Terminal workers are still adhering to the closed loop system, so PVG is also operating with less than 50% of the usual manpower. 
  • Continued ocean freight issues, tech product launches and shipment of Christmas stock continues to contribute to high airfreight demand this week. 
  • Market rates are high due to lack of capacity and high demand.
  • Large shipments should be booked well in advance to allow time to find space.
  • We are being told that space should be booked before final confirmation of rate.

2.       EU market (base airport like FRA/AMS/LUX, etc)

• • All preighters to Shanghai airport will be cancelled from 1st November – 10th November due to the China International Import Expo. This means further reduction in capacity coming out of China. It is expected that rates will rise even further from this week
  • Strict control measures at PVG airport have resulted in 40% flights being cancelled for the next month. Terminal workers are still adhering to the closed loop system, so PVG is also operating with less than 50% of the usual manpower. 
  • Continued ocean freight issues, tech product launches and Christmas stock continue to contribute to high airfreight demand this week. 
  • Market rates are high due to lack of capacity and high demand.
  • Large shipments should be booked well in advance to allow time to find space.
  • We are being told that space should be booked before final confirmation of rate. 

3.   UK market

• • All preighters to Shanghai airport will be cancelled from 1st November – 10th November due to the China International Import Expo. This means further reduction in capacity coming out of China. It is expected that rates will rise even further from this week
  • Continued ocean freight issues, tech product launches and christmas stock continue to contribute to high airfreight demand this week. 
  • Market rates are high due to lack of capacity and high demand.
  • Large shipments should be booked well in advance to allow time to find space.
  • We are being told that space should be booked before final confirmation of rate. 

Americas

• Rates into Asia, UK and Europe remain mostly the same this week
• The USA is set to lift its travel ban for most non-citizens from November, so long as they are vaccinated. The eased rules are expected to drive up demand for transatlantic travel. This is good news for the air freight industry as this will no doubt bring more flights and capacity for cargo. 
• ORD is still over capacity and there are issues over release updates. Forwarders are having to send in trucks to collect without knowing if freight is ready and the ground handling agents aren’t answering their phones. 
• Forwarders are choosing to use smaller airports as much as possible as there is less congestion. Freight rates will be higher but there is less chance of incurring additional costs for attempted pickups, waiting time and storage. 
• LAX is still a challenge, there are usually waiting time charges applied to most shipments due to the long queues to collect/deliver into the ground handling agents warehouse.

Europe/UK

• Rates into Asia and North America remain stable as there seems to be enough capacity to meet demand.
• There has been a spike in volumes at Heathrow airport in the last week and this is resulting in large queues at the airport. This may result in cargo missing flights for export or storage being incurred for imports. 
• The USA is set to lift its travel ban for most non-citizens from November, so long as they are vaccinated. The eased rules are expected to drive up demand for transatlantic travel. This is good news for the air freight industry as this will no doubt bring more flights and capacity for cargo.

Road

UK Haulage

Autumn Budget: £32.5 million pledge to help the haulage industry

The chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak acknowledged the challenges facing the logistics sector and has announced funding of £32.5million to improve the much-maligned lorry park facilities. The chancellor also announced during the budget that he would be freezing Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for HGVs until 2023.

Be Prepared – New Import Controls EU-to-GB from 1 Jan 2022

Europe is suffering from a shortage of 400,000 drivers, with much of the demand based in the UK, a situation expected to get considerably worse by January, when new UK-EU border controls come into force.

Changes to take effect on 1 January 2022:

• Full customs declarations and controls
• Pre-notification of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods (extended from 1 October 2021)

European Bank Holidays – November 2021

We anticipate a shortage of availability and the occurrence of delays around the bank holiday periods. Plan ahead and allow extra time for your products to be delivered.

November 2nd – Lithuania

November 4th – Russia

November 5th – Russia

November 6th – Russia, Finland, Morocco, Sweden

November 7th – Russia, Belarus

November 11th – Belgium, France, Poland, Serbia, Austria (Regional)

November 17th – Slovakia, Germany (Regional), Czechia

November 18th – Morocco, Latvia, Croatia

November 30th – Romania

USA Haulage

Because of higher rates, US trucking firms have posted revenue gains. 

However, labour and equipment shortages mean trucking firms are going to suffer bottlenecks and delays on the road. 

According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the driver shortage has climbed to more than 80,000 as the pandemic has caused many drivers to retire. Backlogs in training and a delay in obtaining licenses has restricted the entry of new qualified drivers. 

Simultaneously the need for drivers has jumped 30% over 2020 levels and the ATA has expressed their concern over a ‘workforce crisis’ in the trucking industry. 

The information that is available in the Weekly Market Update comes from a variety of online sources, partners and our own teams. Click below to learn more about how Zencargo can help make your supply chain your competitive advantage.

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