News & Media
Welcome to the half century edition of Service without Boundaries, the U-Freight Group’s quarterly newsletter.
Nothing that I have read in the first four months of 2022 leads me to conclude that supply chain disruption is likely to end any time soon.
The combination of factors at play, including continued congestion at ports across the world, the possibility of a port labour dispute on the US West Coast, the Covid-19 situation in China, and a lack of new container tonnage coming into the market, are all likely to prolong disruption and keep rates high.
Optimists suggest that the disruption will continue, for the next 12 months. Pessimists say it could be all of 2023 also.
Personally, I hope that 2023 will not be as bad as 2022, but I'm sure rates will remain elevated, and we’ll continue to not be able to rely on a seamless supply chain.
Some believe that the current fall in spot container rates shows that the market is improving from a customer perspective, but I believe that prices will increase again. Global supply chains are broken in many cases and the disruptions, and lack of predictability that we struggled with for the past two years are not going away any time soon.
Our advice to our customers is to plan for disruption for at least another 12 months, whilst diversifying the modes of transport they use within their supply chains. That might mean implementing sea/air solutions or switching to more expensive air freight to compensate for some disruptions in ocean freight.
One thing is certain, the U-Freight Group will work closely with our customers to minimise the effects of the disruption caused by the factors that continue to impact on the efficient operation of their global supply chains and the role we play in managing those chains.
I hope that provides you with some assurance, but please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would to discuss further. I also hope that you enjoy the contents of our latest newsletter.
Nothing that I have read in the first four months of 2022 leads me to conclude that supply chain disruption is likely to end any time soon.
The combination of factors at play, including continued congestion at ports across the world, the possibility of a port labour dispute on the US West Coast, the Covid-19 situation in China, and a lack of new container tonnage coming into the market, are all likely to prolong disruption and keep rates high.
Optimists suggest that the disruption will continue, for the next 12 months. Pessimists say it could be all of 2023 also.
Personally, I hope that 2023 will not be as bad as 2022, but I'm sure rates will remain elevated, and we’ll continue to not be able to rely on a seamless supply chain.
Some believe that the current fall in spot container rates shows that the market is improving from a customer perspective, but I believe that prices will increase again. Global supply chains are broken in many cases and the disruptions, and lack of predictability that we struggled with for the past two years are not going away any time soon.
Our advice to our customers is to plan for disruption for at least another 12 months, whilst diversifying the modes of transport they use within their supply chains. That might mean implementing sea/air solutions or switching to more expensive air freight to compensate for some disruptions in ocean freight.
One thing is certain, the U-Freight Group will work closely with our customers to minimise the effects of the disruption caused by the factors that continue to impact on the efficient operation of their global supply chains and the role we play in managing those chains.
I hope that provides you with some assurance, but please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would to discuss further. I also hope that you enjoy the contents of our latest newsletter.
Latest News About U-Freight
ISSUE 50
U-Freight America integrates US West Coast operations
In California, U-Freight America is integrating its air, ocean, logistics and eCommerce operations at one enhanced location in the greater Los Angeles area at a wholly-owned logistics hub in the City of Industry, which the company reoccupied in 2021.
ISSUE 50
U-Freight features in major air cargo trade publication
Speaking exclusively to Air Cargo News magazine, U-Freight America’s president and chief executive, Rick Keller told the publication’s associate editor, Roger Hailey that block space agreements are out and spot rates are resulting in instability for air cargo costs, but there are still opportunities for innovative freight forwarders.
Latest Industry News
ISSUE 50
Lockdown-induced eCommerce shift here to stay for supply chains
As an international logistics service provider with a significant commitment to eCommerce logistics, U-Freight notes that more than a third of businesses believe that the move to online shopping seen during the Covid-19 pandemic is now a permanent shift, according to new research from international supply chain and logistics consultancy SCALA.
ISSUE 50
Air cargo growth continues in February, up 2.9%
As a provider of international expedited airfreight services, the U-Freight Group notes that global air cargo demand increased in February despite a challenging operating backdrop, according to figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
ISSUE 50
Container line schedule reliability improves for first time in two years
As a provider of international container shipping services, the U-Freight Group notes that a report in Maritime Executive magazine indicates that after a prolonged decline, schedule reliability among container carriers showed the first significant improvement since the onset of the pandemic.
ISSUE 50
TT Club puts risk from invasive pests into focus
With our broad range of international supply chain management services, the U-Freight Group notes that freight transport insurance mutual, TT Club, is bringing the nature of phytosanitary risks into greater focus by aiming to help educate those involved in the intermodal supply chain about pests, noting that various sources of potential pest contamination exist throughout the global freight supply chain.
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