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This could be the hottest summer ever — for freight

Chart of the Week:  Inbound Ocean TEU Volume Index , Van Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: IOTI.USA, VOTVI.USA

The Inbound Ocean TEU Volume Index (IOTI), which measures maritime bookings for twenty-foot equivalent units for U.S. imports, is set to hit an all-time high this week. The IOTI starts in January 2019 but  covers one of the most active periods in maritime shipping thanks to the pandemic. With imports being tied more closely than ever to surface freight volumes and transportation...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/this-could-be-the-hottest-summer-ever-for-freight

Amazon borrows from FedEx playbook to smoke union drive in Bessemer

There is no love lost between Jeff Bezos and Fred Smith, given the unpleasant break- up of their companies’ shipping marriage in 2019. Yet in decisively thwarting efforts to organize 5,800 workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, Bezos took a page right from the FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) founder’s anti-union playbook.

Other than about 5,000 unionized pilots that came over after FedEx acquired the old Flying Tiger Line cargo airline in 1988, and a smattering of workers...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/amazon-borrows-from-fedex-playbook-to-smoke-union-drive-in-bessemer

Could container shipping rates stay this red-hot until 2022?

container rates

Container-shipping spot rates keep bouncing around at stratospheric heights — and show zero signs of sliding back to earth. On some trade lanes, they’re still ascending. Case in point: The formerly sleepy Europe-U.S. trans-Atlantic route just spiked.

With fallout from the Ever Given accident in the Suez Canal expected to cut container and vessel availability, the “when will this end?” chatter is starting to fixate less on the second half of 2021 and more on 2022.  

This is the season — in a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-container-shipping-spot-rates-stay-red-hot-until-2022

2 long-haul truckers charged in kidnapping-for-ransom scheme

FBI_seeks_victims

Two long-haul truck drivers accused of kidnapping women and attempting to force them into prostitution or demanding ransom for their return may have additional victims the FBI is seeking to identify.

Owner-operator Brian T. Summerson, 25, of Dillion, South Carolina, was arrested in January and charged with battery, false imprisonment and tampering with a witness. Owner-operator Pierre Washington, 35, of Chicago, was arrested in March on kidnapping charges. It’s unclear how many alleged victims...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2-long-haul-truckers-charged-in-kidnapping-for-ransom-scheme

Don’t ride the blockchain train unless you know the track–report

A new report from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has thrown up a caution flag for supply chain management executives thinking about taking the plunge into blockchain.

The report, published on Wednesday by the Haslam School of Business’ Global Supply Chain Institute, concludes that blockchain initiatives are not for every company, and that implementation efforts can be a major waste of time, money and manpower unless the needs  justify the commitment. 

The tremendous hype around...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dont-ride-the-blockchain-train-unless-you-know-the-track-report

Light at end of the tunnel for battered tanker trade?

tanker rates

OPEC+ shocked the market in early March by keeping production cuts in place. Definitely not what the tanker industry wanted to hear. In typical fashion, it was spun as good news for shipping: Spot-rate pressure would be even worse in the near term, but the pain would end quicker as oil inventories drew down faster.

OPEC+ surprised the market yet again in early April — this time by finally agreeing to increase production. This is what tanker owners had been hoping and expecting to hear four weeks...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/light-at-end-of-the-tunnel-for-battered-tanker-trade

Port of Long Beach smashes container records in March

A large magenta colored ship with containers sails into port on a sunny day.

A record number of ocean containers crossed the docks at the Port of Long Beach in March, further underscoring that there will be no slow season this year at U.S. ports. Earlier this week, the Port of Charleston reported record results for March. 

The Long Beach port authority on Thursday said its terminals handled 840,387 twenty-foot equivalent units last month, surpassing the previous high of 815,885 TEUs set in December. March is normally one of the slowest months for maritime trade, as...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/port-of-long-beach-smashes-container-records-in-march

Air cargo gone wild: 9% growth in February

A tractor pulls a cargo pallet.

The international air cargo market has been on fire since last summer and the blaze is getting bigger, new figures show. The only thing dampening growth is a lack of capacity related to the severe pullback in international passenger flights.

February air shipment volumes increased 9% compared to the same month in 2019, according to data released Wednesday by the International Air Transport Association. Demand for air transport is so strong that it has returned to elevated levels last seen before...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-gone-wild-9-growth-in-february

Lufthansa Cargo’s carbon-neutral flights take off

Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker launched a carbon-neutral flight route.

Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker recently launched what the companies described as “the first regular carbon-neutral cargo flight connection in history,” from Frankfurt, Germany, to Shanghai.

The first of the weekly flights took place on April 1 with the takeoff of a Boeing 777F.

“As of now, carbon neutral supply chains are also feasible with air freight,” Jochen Thewes, CEO of DB Schenker, said in a press release. “Our weekly flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai are the kick-off of a new era.”

Th...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lufthansa-cargos-carbon-neutral-flights-take-off

NOAA forms first partnership with offshore wind developer

The Sea-Jay comes into dock at Llandudno, U.K., with the Ørsted Burbo Bank windfarm in the background.

When it comes to finding energy solutions, some people believe the answer is blowing in the wind.

This is certainly the case at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The agency, which falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce, has signed an agreement that it hopes will solve some of the country’s energy problems.

After a year of discussions and ironing out details, NOAA officials announced March 29 a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Ørsted Wind Power North America LLC,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/noaa-forms-first-partnership-with-offshore-wind-developer

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