November 15, 2021 – Severe congestion across major airports appears to be hampering air cargo volumes. Although volumes appear to be growing as last minute shippers attempt to make up for the supply chain crisis on the water, the airports are simply not able to keep up around the world. Sea freight disruption and schedule failure are creating distressed ocean freight, and conversion to air freight – whether to get consumer products into stores for Christmas or components for manufacturing – has accelerated. Major airports across the US and Europe, notably JFK in New York, Heathrow and Frankfurt, are facing severe delays as handlers battle a shortage of labour. Meanwhile, the opening of the US to European citizens has seen additional passenger traffic. Frankfurt saw 32 flights depart to the US on the day the market reopened, up from 22 on the same day in 2019. We will continue to monitor the situation for our customers as these delays will likely hit the major hubs of Toronto and Vancouver closer to home.
November 8, 2021 – Container spot rates from Asia to Europe continued their downward trend last week from their September all-time highs, while transpacific base rates also lost significant ground.
The November 5 Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) commentary reports that the market from Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean is “sluggish.” “Some carriers have increased their efforts to solicit cargo, which led to a slight drop in spot freight rates,” it said.
While the decline is not dramatic, it appears some carriers are reducing, or waiving, premium fees that can easily add $3,000 or more to the final invoice. Indeed, one UK-based NVOCC said his carrier was prepared to “throw in” its equipment and space guarantee fees during November.
October 24, 2021 – The ZIM KINGSTON vessel was subjected to rough weather during the weekend and a chemical fire was extinguished. Firefighting tugboats continue to operate to prevent renewed flare-ups. Additional expert and firefighting personnel are due to board the vessel soon, weather permitting, to oversee ongoing effort. Note that about 40 containers have been lost at sea and we are awaiting word to see if our customer’s cargo has been affected. We will keep you updated about the situation on due time.
October 12, 2021 – Urgent action must be taken by October 22, 2021 by Canadian exporters to China of medium-risk products to meet the new requirements coming into force on January 1, 2022 affecting food, including animal-based and plant-based food products. On April 12, 2021, the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) released two new regulations that will regulate food safety in China, as well as imported and exported foods: Decree 248 (Provisions on the Administration of Registration of Foreign Enterprises Producing Imported Food) and Decree 249 (Administrative Measures on Import and Export Food Safety). The new decrees are set to come into force on January 1, 2022, and all countries exporting to China will be required to meet the new requirements under the decrees. Decree 248 includes the requirement for a broad range of food products that will need to be registered with Customs China, including some products that are currently registered by the CFIA with China and listed in GACC’s eligibility lists. Decree 248 also includes many new products that may require establishment and exporter registration by both CFIA and GACC.
September 28, 2021 – Please note that our domain and emails will be temporarily offline on Saturday October 2 to Sunday October 3rd to upgrade our systems. We apologize for the inconvenience but please send your emails to canaan.toronto to ensure that we receive your email. All emails that are sent during this upgrade period will automatically be returned to sender. If your matter is urgent, please call us at 416.621.6800.
September 27, 2021 – In an ominous sign that the tight cargo supply will not ease up anytime soon, there are over 60 container ships full of import cargo stuck offshore of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but there are more than double that – 154 as of Friday – waiting to load export cargo off Shanghai and Ningbo in China, according to eeSea, a company that analyzes carrier schedules. The number of container ships anchored off Shanghai and Ningbo has surged over recent weeks. There are now 242 container ships waiting for berths countrywide. Whether it’s due to heavy export volumes, Typhoon Chanthu or COVID, rising congestion in China is yet another wild card for the trans-Pacific trade.
September 24, 2021 – Taiwan’s request to join the Asia-Pacific’s biggest working trade deal, coming just days after China submitted its own bid, presents the member nations with a difficult choice. Both Beijing and Taipei have asked to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in the past week. That creates the possibility of a long and politicized application process, with the members divided between democracies such as Japan, Australia and Canada pushing for Taiwan’s accession, and Southeast Asian nations keen to remain in China’s good graces, making them vulnerable to pressure from Beijing to thwart Taipei’s bid. Irregardless of the outcome, the attraction of CPTPP to both China and Taiwan bodes well for Canadian trade.
September 20, 2021 – The shortage of containers that is plaguing shippers is not due to any underinvestment in the equipment fleet, but due to the extended time they are spending in transit, according to container shipping specialist Drewry. “Not only have we got rising cargo demand, but there is the continuing disruption across the container supply chain, which means it is taking much longer for containers to complete their voyages,” Drewry head of research Martin Dixon said, explaining that it is these delays that are leading to inefficiencies in the container fleet.
September 12, 2021 – Ports in Shanghai and Ningbo, the world’s largest and third-largest container hubs, have closed for the second time due to the impact of a typhoon this summer. China’s National Meteorological Centre issued an orange alert, the second-most serious level, for the Typhoon Chanthu, which was expected to make landfall in the Zhoushan Archipelago, Zhejiang province on Monday with strong gales and heavy rainfall. Terminal operators at the nearby Yangshan Deepwater Port, which accounts for about 45% of Shanghai’s throughput, suspended all box pickup and delivery operations from September 13. The two main port areas, Waigaoqiao and Wusong, halted the entry and exit of containers at the same time.
September 6, 2021 – Montreal Gateway Terminals announced that “in light of its continuous effort to respond to industry concerns, in light of the understandable allocation concerns and the evident logistical challenges on the supply chain of managing a 2 day receiving window for outbound (export) reefer containers, effective September 7th, MGT terminals (Section 77 and Section 62) will increase the receiving window from 2 to 3 days. As outbound reefer equipment will follow the same ERD and receiving window as dry cargo, Canaan Transport will continue to advise its customers on the best schedule for loading.