Logistics News - Page 5

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) will begin this year what it calls a “new era of flexibility” for service contract filing for container lines and their U.S. importer and exporter customers.

A massive piece of machinery that can produce up to 30 million doses of COVID vaccine per month, and help alleviate production bottlenecks, landed Saturday at Chicago Rockford International Airport on a specialized cargo jet.

The supply chain is moving at speeds unimagined just a year ago. The COVID-19 pandemic drove consumers and businesses online, accelerating a supply chain digitization trend forward as much as 10 years, according to some experts.

The mega-container ship Ever Given is finally free. The Suez Canal is unblocked. Problem solved? Not even close. The problems for container lines and shippers have just begun. In the U.S. market, East Coast cargo flows will bear the brunt of the fallout, although it will be felt nationwide.

Shipments of timber and grain are being loaded onto a class of ship normally reserved for other cargo as strong demand to move commodities causes dislocations to the supply of vessels.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the world has been eagerly awaiting vaccines to defeat the virus. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) understands how important it is to keep vital supply chains running smoothly. To deliver the best possible service for these essential shipments, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has set up a customer COVID Service Centre dedicated to managing all Covid-19 vaccine shipments.

Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports are expected to grow dramatically during the first half of 2021 according to new data from the National Retail Federation. The retailing trade association expects a better than 20 percent year-over-year increase in imports measured in TEUs arriving at the US’s major container ports.

Trucking trade groups and a group of fleets and drivers are urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow truck stops and travel plazas to offer vaccinations to drivers passing through.

Air cargo rates are climbing sharply again, especially for shipments via Asia, after the slowdown for the recent Chinese New Year holiday was more muted than usual. And there is little prospect for price relief the rest of the year, analysts say, with the supply of large, intercontinental aircraft still far below pre-pandemic levels and ocean capacity oversubscribed.

Brussels Airport’s role as export hub for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine contributed to a 21% increase in cargo volume in January.