Goodbye 2021, we’re done. But watch out, here comes 2022! How lucky I recently argued that we are in a supply chain stalemate, as ports around the world remain congested due to excessive numbers of out-of-position empty containers not being loaded for repatriation by the world’s shipping lines, among other factors. But how can...
Maersk’s proposed $3.6bn acquisition of Hong Kong-based LF Logistics represents a “significant milestone” in its transformation into a global integrator of container logistics, according to the CEO of its Ocean & Logistics division, Vincent Clerc. Maersk will purchase LF Logistics from controlling shareholder Li & Fung and Singapore state-owned investment vehicle Temasek, which...
MSC’s surprise last-minute €5.7bn bid to acquire Bolloré Africa Logistics from under the noses of its ocean carrier rivals represents a change of direction for the Aponte family business. Hitherto, MSC has relied on organic growth to rise to the top of the container line rankings, and has shied away from large-scale...
Intra-Asia freight rates from China are soaring as forwarders discover “it’s not just Maersk” giving them the cold shoulder. One forwarder in Shanghai told The Loadstar that 90% of container vessels departing China’s ports were delayed – bottlenecks in destination markets the main culprit. He added: “After a period of soft rates for...
With capacity remaining extremely tight ahead of Chinese New Year, shippers are bracing for a further wave of rate increases on container trades out of Asia. The spot rate indices this week were virtually unchanged – the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) Asia-North Europe component stable at $14,496 per 40ft, and its US...
Maersk has signed a four-year contract with FMCG and food production giant Unilever to provide operational management of its global ocean and air freight transport. The agreement will also see the carrier develop and manage Unilever’s International Control Tower Solution, which will build on the Virtual Ocean Control Tower debuted earlier this...
Lockdowns across China’s Zhejiang province have prompted multiple factory closures, and new restrictions have been placed on trucking. China reported new Covid cases in Tianjin and Guangzhou this week, including the Omicron variant, but the outbreak in Zhejiang, another major manufacturing heartland, remains the most serious. For example, 20 listed companies operating in...
There are unconfirmed reports that up to nine crew have been kidnapped in a pirate attack on a container ship in the Gulf of Guinea, some 48nm southwest of Equatorial Guinea. Security consultancy Dryad Global initially reported six crew missing but later amended that to up to nine crew. Few details are...
DB Schenker has internally announced the appointment of a chief transformation officer (CTO), sources say, charged with leading the German group on a “sustained strength” trajectory after a “hugely successful stint” since the pandemic began in Q1 20. (UPDATE: the full announcement released today by the DB Schenker management board can be found below...
Rumours that Maersk will restrict some customers to spot bookings from 1 January could be “a big opportunity” for smaller forwarders to win business from their multinational competitors. Sean Crook, director at Sydney-based forwarder Neolink, says Maersk and subsidiary Hamburg Süd have “definitely been pushing everyone to online bookings and/or FAK [freight...
