Industry News
IMO plans new rules on shipping lithium batteries Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business
Midlands and North route, serving Britain’s biggest container port, should be doubled and the route electrified throughout. ON THE QUAYSIDE A multi-million-pound project to expand the rail terminal at the port of Southampton is progressing, with Solent Stevedores taking possession of the second phase of an upgrade programme at its rail terminal in the Western Docks area. This includes connecting a further 6.5 acres of space to the existing rail terminal and laying a new track, whilst realignment of the existing rails has created two container sidings capable of servicing 640 m long trains and increasing the number of daily departure slots to 12. The Mumbai Maersk set a new record for the deepest- draught vessel to call at the port of Felixstowe when it arrived from Bremerhaven in mid-November with a draught of 16.8 m. It sailed 24 hours later with a draught of 17 m. IN THE AIR Global air cargo volumes and spot rates edged up marginally in October, but overall demand remained muted, diminishing hope of a traditional year-end revenue boost for airlines and freight forwarders, according to Xeneta’s latest weekly market analysis. IN BUSINESS A survey conducted by FourKites, the provider of supply chain visibility solutions, has revealed that almost two-thirds of business leaders in the UK and over 80% of those working in the USA list supply chain data connectivity as one of their top priorities. However, fewer than half were leveraging their supply chain data to inform their strategic direction and 14% were not using supply chain data at all to make decisions.
ON THE OCEAN Recent fires on board ships carrying electric-powered cars have prompted a rush to boost the protection of vessels. Heike Deggim, head of safety at the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) warned that growing exports of battery powered vehicles pose a significant safety risk, adding that member states would draw up new rules next spring for shipping groups that transport vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries. Container shipping’s bellwether, Maersk, announced a fresh wave of 3,500 job cuts in its Q3 2023
financial report as the global freight industry faces a “new normal” of tumbling prices, inflation and weak consumer demand. The redundancies added to the 6,500 job cuts announced earlier in the year. According to Greece’s Container News website, a whopping 230 million teu moved through Chinese ports between January and September 2023, an increase of 5.2% compared with the same period 12 months ago. The port of Shanghai maintained its position as the country’s most active container port, handling 36.19million teu during the period, whilst the port of
Yinkou stands out with the most significant year-on-year percentage increase in container throughput during the first nine months of the year, boasting growth of 19.6%. At a recent Xenata event, delegates discussed the uncertainties about freight rates for the next year, which are concerning both shippers and carriers as they consider committing to 12-month contracts – both in air and sea. One speaker suggested that one way to reduce risk is through index-linked agreements (ILAs), which save all parties a lot of time haggling over freight rates. Overland The European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes – ESTA – is stepping up its lobbying of authorities in Brussels to persuade them to strengthen the proposed revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive 96/53/EC, which sets out the rules for heavy duty vehicles operating on Europe’s roads and related regulations governing heavy and abnormal transport. The revision presents a major opportunity for authorities to deal with the many difficulties being faced by transport operators while at the same time improving safety and the industry’s efficiency. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport has published a 10-point plan following the cancellation of the Birmingham-Manchester leg of the HS2 rail project a month ago. It calls for an independent inquiry into what went wrong with the scheme, and recommends that the remaining single-track sections on the Felixstowe to
4 | December 2023
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