Volume shippers offered new long-term fixed-rate contracts by container lines are, nevertheless, still keen to keep a foot in the door of the spot market. The extreme volatility of the spot market saw many shippers get their fingers badly burned over the past 18 months as rates were turbocharged by supply constraints...
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Property giants are scooping up logistics portfolios in anticipation of continuing clamour for warehouse capacity in a booming market fuelled by e-commerce. CBRE Group, the world’s biggest industrial real estate player, is leading the charge with the $4.9bn acquisition of the logistics portfolio of Hillwood Investment Properties. The move, announced on Tuesday, was...
With the changes to post-Brexit border policies, pressure is set to intensify for UK importers next week as volumes begin to climb back, post-Christmas lull. The first week of new import controls on EU goods saw a notable hitch when the new IT system, the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), crashed on...
REUTERS reports: Amazon.com Inc and Stellantis NV (STLA.MI) said Wednesday they will collaborate to develop cars and trucks with Amazon software in the dashboards, and deploy electric vans made by Stellantis on Amazon’s delivery network. The agreements expand Amazon’s efforts to get a bigger foothold in the transportation industry, and could help Stellantis close the gap...
Increased commercial power, diminished choice and competition, along with carrier exemption from competition regulations are distorting the container shipping market, according to the British International Freight Association (BIFA). Its director general, Robert Keen, is the latest in a list of shippers and their representatives to raise competition concerns with regulatory authorities following...
South Korean vehicle maker Hyundai’s logistics unit, Hyundai Glovis, has itself established a subsidiary in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province. Chengdu Glovis SCM, aims to help its parent to diversify into container rail freight – in 2020, Chengdu was the Chinese city with the second-most direct rail freight trains to Europe. Hyundai Glovis plans a...
It’s that time again – The Loadstar’s annual Christmas quiz. Given the sheer volume of news this year, we have divided it by month. Good luck! January There were “urgent calls” for a review on container lashings in January after the 13,092 teu Maersk Essen incident. How many boxes went overboard on its route...
“Shape-shifting” is how Sarah Banks, global freight and logistics lead at Accenture, describes 2021. There have, of course, been many changes, but perhaps the one with the longest-term effect is the massive growth in M&A, spurred on by vast profits, particularly for shipping lines. And the M&A news just keeps on coming, as...
Starting the year in lockdown and ending the year in lockdown, it all seems like a scene from the Bill Murray classic film Groundhog Day, but in between we did manage some valuable face-to-face networking. So here’s hoping we can finally kick this nasty virus into touch in 2022! Meanwhile, 2021 proved...
“I like it. It’s a kick in the face for all those people who didn’t want change.” So said a cargo airline executive on the moves this year by shipping lines to get into air cargo. While for some there is unease about new airlines run by shipping lines, others believe it could...
