Drewry SHipping Consultants

Rail comes into sharp focus with the rise in the cost of seafreight

The reallocation of freight flows between modes of transport in the first three quarters of 2020 led to an increase in the importance of rail transport amid the decline in air and sea freight. Alexey Grom is CEO and Chairman of the Board of the United Transport and Logistics Company – Eurasian Rail Alliance (UTLC ERA) he explores the changing role of rail in today’s supply chain.

Rail services are now a stable element of international supply chains, equally efficient in comparison to sea...

https://container-news.com/rail-comes-into-sharp-focus-with-the-rise-in-the-cost-of-seafreight/

Pandemic contracts Latin American economies to 30-year low

Latin America’s economy has been set back almost 30 years as a consequence of the rapid contraction of economic activity resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to economists at the first virtual TOC Americas conference.

Panellists painted a gloomy picture for economic activity in Latin America this year and next with an uncertain outlook for box terminals, despite recent signs that a V-shaped recovery was taking shape in the third quarter of 2020.

Covid-19 has produced the worst social...

https://container-news.com/pandemic-contracts-latin-american-economies-to-30-year-low/

Covid-19 and China demand sends ripples across global reefer trades

Demand for reefer equipment has been caused by a substantial demand increase in China where production for certain foods has crashed, causing a 40% growth in demand and a shortage of reefer equipment in the deficit regions for reefer boxes.

Speaking at the Cool Logistics virtual conference, Thomas Eskesen, the founder of Eskesen Advisory, based in Denmark, said that a failure in pork production in China had seen demand there for the meat shoot up to 80 million tonnes, with demand overall...

https://container-news.com/covid-19-and-china-demand-sends-ripples-across-global-reefer-trades/

US buying frenzy a contrast to European market serenity

In a typically English and understated way, one analyst thinks the US import market behaviour is “odd”, while another observer said, “we’re in unprecedented territory”, and a third says it’s normal for the US.

No-one had bet on the US consumers entering into such a spree and retailers ordering en masse but analysing the US consumer phenomenon has some analysts scratching their heads, particularly with the European market still seemingly on a go-slow.

Analysts cannot agree about the current...

https://container-news.com/us-buying-frenzy-a-contrast-to-european-market-serenity/

Covid-19 hits COSCO Ship Holdings & CIMC earnings

Domestic volumes were hit the hardest and weak demand was also a factor as COSCO Ship Holdings and China International Marine Containers both posted lower earnings for the first quarter of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on shipping demand during the period.

COSCO Ship Holdings, the COSCO group’s container shipping unit, announced that net profit for the first quarter of 2020 fell 57% to CNY292m (US$41 million), as container volumes fell 4% to 5.61 million TEU.

Chinese domestic routes saw...

https://container-news.com/covid-19-hits-cosco-ship-holdings-cimc-earnings/

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