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.
Container line schedule reliability dips in December
capacity on the route. Market reports suggest that DFDS is pushing to launch a direct ferry service from Rosyth to Dunkirk as early as spring 2026. It would be a big boost for cross-North Sea trade, potentially carrying thousands of trucks annually. IN THE AIR Air cargo volumes showed signs of rebound early in 2026. Data suggests a 5% rise in global tonnages in the first full week of January compared with last year. A new industry report shows that air cargo on-time performance dipped in 2025. On-time delivery scores slipped to around 62.7% due to network realignments and peak-season pressures. At Heathrow, cargo volumes hit record highs in 2025 at around 1.5 million tonnes. Meanwhile the airport said that its board had approved funding for the planning application for a third runway that it said will help boost freight capacity and trade. ACROSS THE BORDER Heavy goods drivers entering the UK will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from late February 2026. Drivers without the ETA will not be allowed to board transport into the UK. It is part of border modernisation but could add friction for freight flows unless operators prepare ahead by advising their partners in Europe of the forthcoming changes. IN BUSINESS In January, registration officially opened for Multimodal 2026. The event will take place at the NEC Birmingham from 30 June to 2 July and bring together all sides of the supply chain. Register today to secure your VIP visitor badge.
ON THE OCEAN Container line schedule
The Ocean Alliance, comprising CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL and Evergreen, has unveiled its 2026 network. It is keeping key Asia-Europe loops routed around the Cape for now. Alternative Suez options are included, but timing is uncertain. Having spiked earlier in the month, container spot freight rates continued to slide in late January. In the month’s penultimate week, Drewry’s composite World Container Index fell for a second consecutive week as carriers adopted a cautious ‘drip-feed’ reintroduction of Suez capacity amid a weakening picture for post-Chinese New Year demand. Reports say that over a billion teu of containers was shipped in 2025 – the first time that threshold has been exceeded. Despite all the chaos – the Red Sea re-routing, ongoing geopolitical issues, and tariff uncertainties – the world’s reliance on ocean freight is more resilient than ever. ON THE QUAYSIDE DP World’s London Gateway terminal surged past 3 million teu of throughput in 2025, a 52% increase, highlighting continued strength in container volumes and port investment. IN THE SHORT SEA ARENA Readers active on the Irish Sea freight route will welcome the news that a new ship has been introduced to Stena’s Line’s Belfast-Heysham route. Stena Connecta joins Stena Futura, which entered service in October. The two ships offer an additional 40% freight
reliability, based on data for over 60 carriers on 34 major trades, dropped in December 2025 by 1.2 percentage points to 62.8%, according to analyst Sea-Intelligence. The figure was the second lowest since May 2025. However, year-on- year there was marked improvement with schedule reliability up 9 percentage points over December 2024. January saw uncertainty return to the Red Sea routing debate after CMA CGM reversed plans to return three
major Asia–Europe services to the Suez Canal, moving them back to the southern Africa route amid ongoing regional instability. This was just after Maersk confirmed plans to resume some scheduled Suez transits.
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6 | February 2026
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