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Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business
September 2019, despite the current restrictions on capacity which remains at 8.9% below September 2019, it said. Cargo that ends up in limbo in on- airport warehouses is exacerbating the congestion crisis, said panellists during a recent Air Cargo World webinar entitled ‘ Thinking outside the terminal: Cargo airports of the future’ . Quickly moving cargo off-airport and building a workforce sufficient to meet the handling needs are keys to efficient operations at major airports. The cost-competitiveness of air cargo relative to that of container shipping remains favourable, IATA said in November. Pre-crisis, the average price to move air cargo was 12.5 times more expensive than container shipping, whereas in September 2021 it was three times more expensive.
Rotterdam port highlights mega boxship pressures
ON THE OCEAN The pressures on port and landside operations across the different modes created by the introduction of containerships in the 23,000- 24,000 teu range was clearly explained by the Port of Rotterdam in a presentation. It said such vessels could be discharging or loading up to 10,000 teu in a call at one of its terminals, equating to around 6,000 moves. The rising number and increasing size of large insurance claims relating to containership operation is of mounting concern both to hull underwriters and P&I clubs. There have been more than 30 incidents requiring payouts from the 13- member International Group of P&I Clubs’ (IG) pooling arrangements since 2016, covering claims of between US$10 million and US$100 million. The rapid increase in ship size has been identified as a key factor across most risk sectors, as well as containership fires, whilst containers lost overboard and container stack collapses are also rising in frequency. Current container supply chain congestion is set to continue through 2022, with the delayed return to liner schedule reliability a key factor, according to the Port of
Rotterdam. It added that the situation is compounded by 25% of global containership capacity being essentially out of the market as it waits outside ports for berths – a chicken and egg situation with lines blaming their poor schedule reliability on delays and congestion at ports. OVERLAND A survey of 200 German transport companies found that entry barriers continue to prevent many forwarders from shifting truck transports to rail. Respondents said that major obstacles to switching include the effort required for planning, a lack of expertise, road haulage companies’ lack of loading units that can be lifted by a crane and loaded onto a train, the lack of awareness of the services and prices offered by combined transport (CT) operators, and lack of access to suitable CT train connections near their locations. Following an announcement during COP26, all new road vehicles in the UK will be zero emission within the next two decades, as 32 countries including the UK, six major vehicle manufacturers, 39 cities, states and regions, 28 fleets and 13 investors jointly set out their determination
for all new car and van sales to be zero emission by 2040 globally and by 2035 in leading markets. A UK government review will seek to improve compulsory ongoing training for HGV drivers. It will also evaluate whether the current requirement for drivers to undergo five days of training every five years, to ensure they remain fully qualified to drive HGV professionally and remain up to date with road safety standards, is fit for purpose or discouraging many drivers who have left the profession from returning. IN THE WAREHOUSE The current warehouse crunch is part of a complex web of overloaded infrastructure exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and developers cannot build fast enough. Property group CBRE estimates that for every US$1 billion increase in online sales, there is a need for an additional 1 million sq ft of warehouse space. IN THE AIR Global air cargo markets saw a steady growth in demand during September, compared with pre- pandemic levels, IATA reported in November. Global demand increased by 9.1% compared with
ON THE QUAYSIDE According to the Marine Exchange
of Southern California, on 9 November there were 81
containerships either at anchor or loitering in drift areas in San Pedro Bay waiting to dock at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This surpassed the previous record of 79 boxships queued on 21 October. The Port of Felixstowe has announced a major investment in new equipment to help decarbonise its operations, placing orders for 48 battery-powered terminal tractors and 17 zero- emission remote-controlled electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes. IN BUSINESS As labour shortages across the supply chain hit the front pages, the cry goes up from the more excitable elements of the media to ‘save Christmas’. Unfortunately, as businesses and politicians are beginning to realise, the skills and labour crisis is of long standing and will not be properly resolved in three months by any number of quick fixes.
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December 2021
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