Newsletter – February 26, 2018

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    Feb

    Newsletter – February 26, 2018
     

    AIR FREIGHT UPDATES 

     
    UK exporters warned they could be held back by lack of air cargo access
    source: aicargonews.net
    Heathrow Airport has warned that the UK’s exporters could be held back by a lack of access to markets unless a new runway is built at the hub.
    The UK’s largest cargo airport, which is hoping to add a new runway, said that the latest cargo volume statistics show that services on key trade routes from Heathrow to Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Tokyo Haneda and Dubai  are reaching capacity.  Read more here.
    Air freight market becoming “like a bazaar’’
    source: lloydsloadinglist.com
    Tight capacity on a number of trades means the air freight market has become “like a bazaar”, with upward swings in spot rates leading to prices rising from one day to the next and the highest bidder getting the space, some air freight forwarders have reported.
    With carriers apparently unwilling or unable to bring in significant extra capacity in the run-up to the lunar New Year on 16 February, forwarders say the “seller’s market” seen in the final quarter of 2017 has largely continued into 2018.

    Meanwhile, several forwarders confirm a trend among carriers to reserve more capacity for higher-priced spot shipments over ‘harder’ blocked-space agreements (BSAs) – raising concerns among shippers that this could undermine longer-term efforts to create a more stable environment for customers and carriers. [Excerpted from lloydloadinglist.com]

    Shanghai Pudong to top Hong Kong as busiest passenger airport
    source: shippingazette.com
    SHANGHAI Pudong Airport’s passenger traffic is set to top that of Hong Kong International Airport this year or next, according to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
    In the past Hong Kong’s main contenders have been airports in Shenzhen and Guangzhou amid rising activity and growth in the Pearl River Delta.
    The financial capital of Shanghai is now expected to record similar passenger traffic to Hong Kong, a milestone still beyond the reach of Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
    A decade ago, Hong Kong International was 65 per cent larger than Shanghai Pudong. In 2017, Pudong narrowed the gap and Hong Kong International was only four per cent busier. [Excerpted from shippingazette.com]

    OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES 

     
    Bangladesh to ‘fast-track’ Bay Container Terminal project
    source: shippingazette.com
    THE Government of Bangladesh has agreed to ‘fast-track’ the Bay Container Terminal (BCT) to facilitate external trade by easing congestion at the country’s prime seaport of Chittagong.
    Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, said steps will be taken to include the project on a fast track, and once approved, the prime minister’s office will closely monitor its progress, help remove bottlenecks, and provide input to expedite construction.
    “We are hopeful of making operational at least one terminal of the project by 2021,” said an official with the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).
    The project consists of one multi-purpose terminal and two container terminals. For the multi-purpose facility, the Indian government has allocated about US$450 million from the third line of credit offered to Bangladesh. The CPA is now looking for an additional $300 million required for terminal construction. [Excerpted from shippingazette.com]

    CANADA INTERNATIONAL – GOVERNMENT UPDATES 

     
    RBC Chief Says Some Commercial Clients Are Anxious About NAFTA
    source: ajot.com
    Uncertainty over ongoing NAFTA negotiations is creating angst among Royal Bank of Canada’s business clients even as markets appear to shrug off the risks, Chief Executive Officer David McKay said.
    “Some of our commercial customers remain concerned about it,” McKay said Friday during the bank’s quarterly earnings call. “It’s certainly impacting longer-term investment decisions that we see customers making.”  Read more here.

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