Why is air cargo suddenly affordable relative to ocean shipping?

A large cargo container on a hydraulic lift being loaded into the side door of a cargo plane.

The cost to ship goods around the world by air is about 2.5 times more expensive than before the pandemic. On major trade lanes, where demand is especially high, such as China and Southeast Asia to the United States, rates are five or six times higher than normal for the peak shipping season.

So how has airfreight become a relative bargain when ocean shipping is cheaper?

The air rate from China to the U.S. West Coast during the first week of November was about $14 per kilogram, double what it was...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-is-air-cargo-suddenly-more-affordable-compared-to-ocean-shipping

Supply chain desperation: Georgia airport to store ocean containers

Giant container ships ring the harbor at a port.

Cargo congestion at the Port of Savannah is so severe that officials plan to use a small airport in Georgia as a temporary overflow yard, one of several locations being rushed into emergency service to relieve port infrastructure buckling under the strain of record volumes.

The Georgia Ports Authority on Friday said it is setting up multiple inland locations as temporary container yards to expedite the flow of imports and exports at Savannah, the fourth largest container port in the nation....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supply-chain-desperation-georgia-airport-to-store-ocean-containers

Hapag-Lloyd rakes in $3.9B in Q3, sees no plunge in rates yet

container shipping

Another ocean carrier financial report, another awe-inspiring bottom line. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd posted its best quarter ever on Friday, and CEO Rolf Habben Jansen provided his take on spot rates, California congestion and all those new container ships that were ordered.

The world’s fifth-largest ocean carrier reported earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization of $3.92 billion in Q3 2021, up 419% from $756 million in Q3 2020.

As with Maersk and other carriers, surging freight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/hapag-lloyd-rakes-in-39b-in-q3-sees-no-plunge-in-rates-yet

COP26 climate event highlights airlines’ move toward cleaner jet fuel

A Qatar Airways cargo plane being refueled by a tanker truck.

The move toward sustainable aviation fuels gained momentum this week as cargo and passenger airline interests, in conjunction with the U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, took more steps to meet the new goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The aviation sector accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, which are expected to rise rapidly with the Department of Energy projecting jet fuel use will double in 30 years. Airlines increasingly realize that their long-term survival...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cop26-climate-event-highlights-airlines-move-toward-cleaner-jet-fuel

Latest supply chain challenge: China’s terrestrial AIS data blackout

Logistics managers around the world have faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and now another hurdle has been added. American Shipper has learned that since China began implementing its new privacy laws on Nov. 1, many Chinese automatic identification system (AIS) terrestrial providers have stopped transmitting data until they understand the regulations. 

If found in violation, these Chinese AIS terrestrial providers could face heavy penalties. This is resulting in an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/latest-supply-chain-challenge-chinas-terrestrial-ais-data-blackout

‘Gobbling up’ cargo: How crude tankers cannibalized product tankers

tanker shipping

Good news for refined product tankers: Those “cannibals” over in the crude business have temporarily stopped feasting on their cargoes.

Some tankers are specifically designed with coated tanks to switch between crude oil and refined products like gasoline and diesel. But even uncoated crude tankers can carry products if they’re brand new on their maiden voyage out of an Asian shipyard.

That is exactly what they’ve done in 2021, more so than ever before.

Newly delivered crude tankers in the VLCC...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gobbling-up-cargo-how-crude-tankers-cannibalized-product-tankers

Green shipping corridors to come out of COP26

World leaders signed on to create six green shipping corridors by 2025 to decarbonize the sector.

World leaders from 22 countries, including the U.S., signed on to the Clydebank Declaration during the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday.

The signatories aim to establish at least six green corridors by the middle of the decade, according to a release

Green corridors would connect two or more major port hubs where zero-emissions solutions and fuels have been demonstrated and supported. The ports and routes will be chosen based on the potential to scale and accelerate...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/green-shipping-corridors-to-come-out-of-cop26

Ports of Charleston and Virginia see record container volumes in October

The East Coast ports of Charleston and Virginia both achieved container volume records in October, continuing a trend that has persisted through much of 2021.

October marks eight consecutive months of record volumes at Port of Charleston

The Port of Charleston experienced a monthly record for October for the number of twenty-foot equivalent units it handled, the South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) reported Wednesday. October’s volume of 234,923 TEUs handled at Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ports-of-charleston-and-virginia-see-record-container-volumes-in-october

California DMV nearly doubles capacity for commercial driving tests

A yellow truck tractor with green trailer makes a turn.

The California Division of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday it is expanding capacity to administer commercial driving tests by increasing weekend hours and shifting examiners from other parts of the state to Southern California, where more truckers are needed to pull containers from backlogged ports. 

The DMV will now offer Saturday commercial driving test appointments at three additional offices – Fullerton, Montebello and Winnetka – bringing the total number of Saturday test sites to 15. The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/california-dmv-nearly-doubles-capacity-for-commercial-driving-tests

Clock ticks closer to midnight for overwhelmed California ports

container shipping

The flood of import containers into Southern California continues unabated — an all-time high 81 container ships were stuck offshore of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday. Waiting time at anchorage for Los Angeles is surging and is now more than double wait times in early September.

The ports are scheduled to start charging a highly controversial excess dwell-time fee on Monday, a plan that some members of the National Shippers Advisory Council called “catastrophic,” “crazy” and “out of left...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/clock-ticks-closer-to-midnight-for-overwhelmed-california-ports

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