The logistics market’s metamorphosis brings the new players into the spotlight. More European countries are considering a different direction for development as further shortages are expected to splurge.
Brexit has surely shaken up the status quo of the logistics market, changing the existing patterns of the established partnerships. With the UK leaving the EU, the potential for new alliances has emerged, bringing China into the spotlight. The country overtook Germany to become the UK’s biggest import market since trade in goods had to plunge due to political changes and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The premise for this shift was already noticeable in 2019 when German import to the UK as well as business enthusiasm started to decline in the light of the looming uncertainty of whether the country would leave the EU or not.
The shift is not the only change currently occurring in the market: the industry is experiencing significant metamorphosis in the rates of the major carriers. It is uncertain when the situation will get back to “normality” but there are big chances that European exporters that are on the lookout to source shipping containers will face the deterioration of the shortages in the coming weeks. The thing is that most carriers are continuing to favor shipping empties back to Asia as fast as possible to maximize yields in main-haul services. The recently updated trading data indicates that in the period between January and April average prices for used 20ft containers across Europe rose up to 57% from US$1,348 to US$2,119. The situation in the main European fore posts is the following: the prices in Hamburg rose by 16%, in Rotterdam by 12%. At the same time, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) plans to increase its rates from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to the major European ports. Additionally, the company is going to impose temporary limitations on reefer container bookings from Europe to Asia starting from May 25 due to the shortage of equipment. According to the experts’ prognosis, the industry is also expected to deal with ocean space storages all the way through the summer. The main reason for it is the blockage of the Suez Chanel. The shippers had to reduce the numbers of the transported containers, and this step disproportionally affected lower-paying companies with carriers favoring cargo from higher-paying customers. However, the good news is that forward indicators suggest that their availability for exporters will improve in the coming months.
The state of the UK rail industry seems to be getting better thanks to the initiative to consolidate instead of implementing a fragmented approach. There is now a crucial objective to adjust the sector to the changes regarding the transportation charges. For now, the companies abstain from them for much of the European network but with the new market segmentation and post-Brexit reality, it will not be for long. The UK officials believe that the success of the further steps of the rail restructuration is determined by the consistent, day-to-day management and training of the logistics companies’ employees. The new green agenda and the growing customer demandplace the necessity for more efficient and flexible stuff.
In the bigger picture, CLECAT (European Association for Forwarding…) has identified three areas where the authorities in both the EU and the UK must agree on further discussions and guidance. There is now a lack of sufficient regulation of the EU goods entering the UK, which has to be solved shortly. Priority Freight, the leading English logistics company, in turn, has declared the ‘clearance on wheels’ status from the UK HMRC that is essential for reducing post-Brexit border bottlenecks.
DHL is another example of a company that has caught the wind of change. However, it is mostly regarding administrative and legal procedures following the new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the UK and the EU. The biggest shake-up concerns the launch of a new European airline in Austria aimed at turning its UK direction into an intercontinental carrier.
Several other European companies have set their objectives for international expansion. Germany’s Vega Reederei is extending its fleet with four 1,868 TEU container vessel new buildings from China’s Yangfan Group by the end of 2022. Chinese intra-regional carrier CU Lines has confirmed the launch of the Asia-Europe service in early June. Turkey sends two more trains to China setting the potential alternative for other companies to use instead of currently popular Eurasian corridors. German CargoBeamer has chosen the Eastern European direction, and it sets up a rail service between Duisburg and the Polish city Poznan. Swiss Hupac announces the use of longer trains in its transalpine routes, claiming a 10% increase in its traffic in the first quarter of 2021. The construction of the Rail Terminal Barneveld is believed to become a reality in the Netherlands; however, the prospects of Barneveld Noord depend on the further investments of private investors since the municipality has announced that it will not invest in it.
Hot growth blasts the cargo market
According to recently issued Intermodal Quarterly Report by IANA, total first quarter intermodal volumes amounted to 4,616,262 units, marking 10.5% annual growth. All domestic equipment category, which is comprised of trailer and domestic containers, saw a 6.3% increase, and international containers, rose by 14.8%.
In the US demand for trucking capacity increased during 2021, and the biggest shortage is seen in the supply of truck drivers. According to experts, from April 2020 to April 2021 shippers’ requests for moving loads increased by 577%, while postings of trucks available to move loads were down 17 percent.
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has reported a 38% year-on-year increase in container trade for April, with the Port of Savannah handling 466,633TEU in what turned out to be the second-busiest month in the year.
In an attempt to reduce port congestion and cut emission, this week the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has allocated $10.8 million for America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP) designed to further integrate coastal and inland waterways into a unified transportation system that would provide container on barge services on commercially navigable waterways.
Increased demand and supply are not the only factors wreaking havoc in global shipping networks. Cyclone Tauktae has recently forced the Indian port of Pipavav to shut its 1.35m teu capacity facility, causing containerships to re-route and discharge containers at other ports such as Nhava Sheva, Mumbai. This morning X-Press Pearl, 2,700-teu ship, carrying 25 tons of nitric acid, suffered an explosion in Colombo port of Shri Lanka. .Shri Lanka is deploying aircraft and navy vessels to assist in combating the fire.
In this time when availability of containers is of the utmost importance to shippers, China’s lead in container manufacturing cost per unit, cheap labor and low repositioning costs make China’s competitive advantage on the global scale unbeatable. According to experts, three Chinese factories nowadays build more than 96% of the world’s dry cargo containers, and 100% of the world’s refrigerated containers.
Amidst escalated growth of ocean shipments, European freight forwarders Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have increased their lease rates for 20’ and 40’ feet containers on routes from North America to Australia and New Zealand, and from Indian Subcontinent (ISC) and Middle East to North America. The rate increase is expected to take effect in mid-June and July.
China-Europe rail freight is also benefitting from the overstretched container shipping market. As reported by CNDRF, the number of Silk Road train trips grew by 24% year-on-year in April to 1,218, marking a 33% increase in volumes to 117,000 teu. The demand for rail freight is also on the rise across South East Asia. For example, Shanghai-based Crane Worldwide Logistics is now moving cargo via rail from Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Turkey’s role in New Silk Road hub is also growing. Thus, on 24 May, two trains with 41 containers carrying 250 tons of melamine-coated chipboard departed from Izmir, Turkey to China. They are expected to travel through the Middle Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail freight route and reach Xi’an in 12 days.
Development of the Laos-China Economic Corridor is picking up the pace, as the Kunming-Vientiane rail link is getting closer to completion. A new 414 km railway line is intended reconnect China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Boten, on Laos’ northern border with China, to Vientiane, the Laotian capital.
According to experts, as the apparel sector is set to grow by 8.2% globally in 2021, Asia’s current 38% share of the global spend in this market is expected to increase to 41% by 2025, boosting demand for ocean and rail freight across regions and countries.
Building a premier railway connecting Mexico-US-Canada freight network has inspired the recent US$30 billion merger deal that was reached last month between US-based KCS and Canadian CN late last month. Kansas City, Missouri-based KCS’ network connects the US Midwest to ports along the Gulf of Mexico. Its system also reaches deep into Mexico.
High airfreight rates are making freight forwarders come up with new freight business ideas. Thus, Panama-based carrier Cargo Threehopes to launch cargo charter services delivering 40 tons per week to the US aboard a 38-year old converted A300-B4.
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A days-long fire aboard m/v X-Press Pearl now appears to be out of control after an explosion happened last Tuesday. The carrier was otherwise ready to start a salvage operation Monday. Insurance Co warns that container fires are frequent and should be better prevented
Through hardship to the stars: the UK is on the lookout for recovery. The consolidation of the railway industry and an alliance with Belgium may be the key.
This week has been commemorated by the appointment of Marion Taylor-Ringsell as the DHL vice president of operations and the publishing of the Logistics Report 2021 by Logistics UK business group that summed up the state of the industry, identified the main challenges, and proposed the possible strategy that could be undertaken by both, the government and the industry players. On a positive note, it mentioned that the UK logistics market had demonstrated impressive resilience in the light of the pandemic and the consequences of it. However, some pain points overshadow the prospects of a fast recovery. With the UK facing higher unemployment – predicted to be at least 5.5% this year – the experts are encouraging the government to facilitate access to job opportunities in logistics. In particular, there is currently a shortage of HGV Drivers that places the recovery at risk. Additionally, after months of disruptions that ocean freight supply chains have been experiencing, Britain faced the problem of shortages of popular products and retailers’ inability to satisfy the growing demand. Apart from the pandemic, the recent crisis in Suez Canal has become a serious reason for the aforementioned challenges. Last weekend has been a busy time of the encounters between Japanese shipowner Shoei Kisen and the Suez Canal Authority over the future of the 20,388 teu containership Ever Given that is now under arrest in the Great Bitter Lake. The deal has not moved from the deadlock as the sides are failing to agree on the amount of compensation SCA is supposed to receive. It will allow the ship to leave only after the payment of a $200 m deposit.
The helping hand in terms of post-pandemic and post-Brexit recovery is coming from the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) that recently has signed the new five-year international deal with GB Railfreight. It covers not only the intermodal shipments but implies particular initiatives addressing the reduction of CO2 emission by moving containers via rail. MSC will also invest in the new transport yard at the Port of Liverpool. It is expected that additional 40 trucks and automation will significantly increase the sight's performance.
The fastest recovered sector has turned out to be the freight use of railways. According to the experts, the key for further improvement is a “whole-system” approach instead of a “fragmented” one that makes strategic freight planning more challenging. The government has pledged to accelerate the growth and encourage more integrated regional networks. The positive changes have followed suit. Logistics UK, the key player in the industry, has announced plans to create a single body of rail freight - Great British Railways. Another big opportunity is a long-awaited High Speed 2 (HS2) project that is currently under construction between London and Birmingham. The government has agreed that further electrification is required to decarbonize the railway alongside the deployment of battery and hydrogen trains on some lines. The HS2 initiative is the best testing ground. In turn, the new partnership between Samskip Unilever and TMA Logistics also aims to reduce emissions.
After weeks of suspension of Palletline inbound services due to the volumes rising by more than 60%, the company is kicking it off with a fresh start. The challenges urged Palletline to review its cooperation with their distribution centers and come up with a more effective strategy.
A four-phased plan has been introduced regarding the transportation of the food products between Great Britain and Northern Island. This part of the Brexit deal creates a trade border, so both sides are now seeking solutions. Phase one will cover fresh meat products and phase two at the end of January 2022 will cover dairy products, plants, and wine. Phases three and four would cover fruit and vegetable marketing standards, pet food, organics, and composite products.
While the UK is struggling with recovery, Belgium attempts to capitalize on the current situation. The country has offered Great Britain a strategic partnership that will allow non-EU goods to be checked away from ports and other areas likely to be affected by the Brexit deal with ease. There is currently a construction of the new intermodal terminal in Antwerp.
Austria is also speeding up. ÖBB Rail Cargo Group doubled its New Silk Road volumes thanks to the efficient cargo distribution.
The EU automotive players are about to face serious competition from Hyundai Motor. The company plans to ship a new series of fuel-cell trucks to Europe later this year. Initial customer feedback on Hyundai's pay-per-use pilot seems positive. The new generation of hydrogen-powered trucks is believed to become one of the most effective sustainable initiatives.
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