Industry News
Ian Matheson , from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business. Don’t miss Ian’s weekly news round up on BIFA TV, which can be seen on our You Tube channel. Subscribe by scanning the QR code.
Containership orderbook continues to expand
consultant Aevean, said the air cargo market faces a year of major geopolitical challenges, but also key opportunities with the continued growth of high-
tech and e-commerce volumes. He provided a thorough overview of the
impact of the recent outbreak of war in the Middle East on the air cargo market and explained what has been happening to air cargo capacity in the region, and how airlines have been reacting. Most airfreight forwarders are facing operational disruption and rising costs due to the Middle East conflict, according to data from a survey conducted by the US Air Forwarders Association. It also highlighted widespread capacity constraints, rate volatility, flight cancellations, capacity constraints and longer transit times as the most common issues, alongside growing customer service pressures and space embargoes. OVERLAND The Railfreight.com website has reported that freight volumes on the China-Europe rail corridor rose sharply in January and February, with container traffic up 25% year- on-year and train trips increasing 32%. China Railway said 352,100 TEU was moved on the route in the first two months of 2026, compared with 281,000 TEU a year earlier. infrastructure announced by the UK government will give hauliers up to £81,000 off zero- emission trucks and discounts of £5,000 off e-vans. The zero- emissions truck and van grants and the depot charging scheme aim to overcome two of the biggest hurdles facing operators: upfront costs and access to charging. It will cover up to 70% of the cost when installing charging infrastructure for fleet vehicles. A £1 billion investment in electric HGVs and
ON THE OCEAN BIMCO has announced that despite increasing trade policy uncertainty and falling freight rates, the containership orderbook has continued to expand and now totals more
IN THE SHORT SEA TRADES Plans for a direct ferry link between Scotland and mainland Europe have moved forward after the UK government committed £3 million to upgrade infrastructure at the port of Rosyth. The investment is conditional on a commercial agreement between port operator Forth Ports and a ferry operator, possibly DFDS, as well as approval of a business case. IN THE AIR A new UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) report has highlighted an increase in the number of lithium-ion battery incidents in air cargo as a result of the growth of e-commerce demand, indicating a 40% increase in the number of thermal runaway incidents since 2021 (from 10 that year, to 14 last year). ULSE added that the increase reflects identifiable gaps in battery quality, shipper awareness, regulatory oversight and supply chain accountability. These are all systemic weaknesses that can and must be better addressed to reverse this troubling trend. E-commerce faced a rocky regulatory road in 2025, but IATA believes there is still scope for the vertical to drive air cargo demand growth, despite challenges that include a global crackdown on import rules. It said e-commerce will be a significant contributor to global air cargo volumes in 2026, which it predicts will grow by around 2.4%, reaching over 71.6 million tons. Speaking at the IATA World Cargo Symposium, Marco Bloemen, managing director of
proposed Maritime Action Plan (MAP) has resurrected a controversial proposal to charge foreign - built ships a per - kilogramme fee on imported cargo. On 23 March, the US Federal Maritime Commission unanimously rejected separate requests by CMA CGM, Hapag- Lloyd, Maersk and Zim for special permission to waive a 30-day notice period to implement surcharges tied to the war in the Middle East. This forced the four to wait until early April to charge their shipper customers.
than 1,350 ships with a combined capacity of 11.8 million TEU.
The International Chamber of Shipping has cautioned Washington over its plans to revitalise domestic shipbuilding by charging foreign-built vessels higher port fees. The Trump administration’s long - awaited
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6 | April 2026
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