MSC goes instant 
The Switzerland-headquartered MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has added a new tool to its e-business platform myMSC. The instant quote function provides for real-time shipping rates for container bookings. Currently, the majority of MSC’s bookings are carried out offline,... more
Freight line resumed in South Africa
South African carrier Transnet has re-opened the ‘freight line’ from the Pretoria complex to Pyramid Station (Pretoria North to Hercules), following years of closure. This significant milestone will improve efficiencies and reliable delivery of services in the mining and... more
Q3/2020 in the doldrums, Sea Intelligence expects
In its latest issue 106 of its Global Liner Performance (GLP) report, the Copenhagen (Denmark)-based maritime intelligence provider Sea-Intelligence refers to the recent revision of the IMF's outlook for the global economy, revising a -3.0% projected recession for 2020 downwards... more
Heavy duty carrier buys new vehicles
Universal Transport in Germany continues to expand its vehicle fleet. The provider of heavy duty logistics services recently purchased a STZ-VP 3 low bed saddle with a total weight of 62 t and a MPA 7 semitrailer totalling 110 t from manufacturer Goldhofer. The trucks are... more
World container flows on hold
The container throughput index of the German RWI – Leibniz institute for economic research and the institute of shipping economics and logistics (ISL) hardly moved at all from April to May, falling from (corrected) 107.8 to 107.7 points. The index is therefore 7.3% below the... more
An excellent year for pharma shipments by air
The growth of pharma shipments by air since 2017 and the development of premium products by airlines for temperature controlled healthcare and life science shipments, prompted Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) to make a multi-million EUR investment in pharma centres at 12... more
Change of ship crews still in crisis
Two days before the international "Seafarers' Day", the situation of crew changes in the global merchant fleet has not improved. Alfred Hartmann, president of the Association of German Shipowners (VDR), made an urgent appeal to states that prevent seafarers from... more
Emirates' B777F brings relief to Burkina Faso
Emirates Skycargo, the freight division of Emirates, has worked with Dubai-based International Humanitarian City (IHC), a leading global hub for humanitarian aid, to transport an urgent consignment of relief materials to Burkina Faso. The B777F carrying around 100 t of aid,... more
H2/2020: Full black or full red?
The Copenhagen (Denmark)-based maritime analyst Sea-Intelligence has issued a new assessment of the carrier's financial situation in 2020. In a first estimate in April, the Danes suggested two possible outcomes, both based on a presumed 10% loss of volumes. One forecasts... more
Maersk sticks to its optimism
A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S (APMM), the world's largest container shipping group, said it expects better market demand than previously forecast in the current three-month period. The quarterly profit should therefore be "slightly above" the USD 1.5 billion mark achieved... more