High freight rates inflate prices 
Copenhagen-based maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence recently analysed the impact of the elevated freight rates on importers for a variety of consumer goods, especially on the Asia to US West Coast and North Europe trade lanes. An OECD-data-based value of consumer goods... more
China Southern Air Cargo expects OL
Guangzhou-based China Southern Air Cargo is set to be granted an operator's licence (OL) by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) almost six months after it applied. The regulator said it had now completed its initial review and was now planning to formally award... more
MSC block trains: full speed ahead
MSC reports that its recently-launched Asia-to-Europe ocean and rail solution has been well received by its customers (see ITJ Daily from 24 April 2021). Introduced in mid-May, the first shipment of MSC containers was moved via block train from Vostochniy to St. Petersburg in... more
Ettamogah rail hub handles 1,800 m trains
A rail siding in the Ettamogah rail hub near Albury in NSW (Australia) has been upgraded for around AUD 12.2 million (EUR 7.7 million), providing significantly increased efficiency for freight and passenger rail services. The new siding extension will work with Inland Rail to... more
A silver lining for reliability at sea?
According to Sea-Intelligence, a maritime intelligence provider from Copenhagen (Denmark), the increase in global schedule reliability in March 2021 didn’t last. Reliability levelled out, with carriers recording a 1 percentage point decrease month-on-month in April, coming to... more
Asia-Pacific airlines stagnated in April
Preliminary figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) have shown that passenger demand remains depressed, whilst cargo demand grew. Renewed border restrictions and lockdowns in many Asian economies quelled hopes of resurgent international markets.Some... more
Shanghai test centre now operative
In Shanghai, Centre Testing International (CTI)-Maritec, a fuel and environmental technical advisory company for the maritime industry, recently cut the ribbon of a new fuel-testing centre. The opening of the lab, located in the city’s Minhang district, coincides with the first... more
Chinese port connected to train
The container terminal in the Chuanshan port area of Zhoushan Port in Ningbo, East China, recently saw its first rail-sea intermodal train arrive. 100 standard containers fully loaded with solar PV modules were short-barged by trailers from the train to the cargo ship heading... more
ALC looking for new CEO
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) thanks and says farewell to its chief executive officer Kirk Coningham OAM, whose last day was yesterday, 31 May 2021. Recruitment for a replacement CEO continues with the ALC board commending the high quality and volume of talent that... more
More ULCV for CMA CGM
China's CSSC Jiangnan Shipyard, an affiliate of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, has delivered another 23,000 teu dual-fuel containership to Marseille-based shipping company CMA CGM. The newbuild, CMA CGM Trocadero, is 399.9 m in length and 61.3 m in width. The vessel... more