Alliances weathering the storm differently 
Deep-sea carriers have currently blanked 435 sailings. The Copenhagen-headquartered maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence said in a recent bulletin that these cancelations stand for a decline in demand of 7 million t in 2020. The blanking measure, however, protects the... more
New locomotives to haul coal in Indonesia
Progress Rail in the USA has signed a contract with PT Kereta Indonesia (PT KAI) for 36 new freight locomotives that will expand the Indonesian railway operator’s existing GT Series fleet. The new traction will go into service for PT KAI’s South Sumatra coal haulage operations... more
Passing on oil price reductions
The freight forwarding associations Fiata and Clecat have called on the liner industry to relieve the burden imposed by Covid-19. With regards to the sudden decline of the price of very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), just after the steady rise in costs last year caused by the... more
IRU-UNECE call for coordinated measures
The International Road Union (IRU) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) continue their cooperative and proactive joint response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a joint letter addressed to customs administration bodies, the two organisations stressed the importance... more
Finnair Cargo builds long and short air bridges
While passenger traffic has been reduced to a minimum, Finnair's air cargo is still operating during this exceptional period. Last week, Finnair flew more than ten return flights to Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo, Guangzhou and Shanghai. They carry national emergency supplies to... more
Record smashed: China – UK in just 17 days
Davies Turner’s direct, fixed-day, weekly rail import service from China to the UK has broken record transit times. “The first consol container that left China after we restarted our direct express China rail service into the UK in March arrived after just 17 days,” said chief... more
Medium-sized forwarder performs batch of full charters
Due to the enormous demand for transports of protective masks, Emons Spedition, a Cologne (Germany)-based independent, family-run company with more than 100 branches in the world, is exploring new paths and chartering full aircraft under its own direction. Emons' "go... more
Indian Railways introduces 109 time-tabled parcel trains
In a major boost to the supply chain network across the country, Indian Railways has introduced unhindered services of timetabled parcel trains for nationwide transportation of essential commodities and other goods. Over 58 routes and 109 special parcel trains have been... more
Baltic Exchange enters air cargo market
EU authorised benchmark administrator the Baltic Exchange has partnered with Hong Kong-based air cargo pricing publisher TAC Index Company. Both partners will provide new regional general air cargo rate assessments. Launched in 2016, TAC’s "Regional General Air Cargo... more
Spanning the Pacific Ocean
Aerolíneas Argentinas arranged its first two return flights to China last week. The flights took approximately 55 hours with 6 hours of estimated loading work, using an A330–200 specially prepared with nets to enlarge cargo capacity by up to an additional 84% (13 t). Taking... more