Episode 4 – Air and container freight rates soar as shippers and regulators seek answers

Credits: Created, Produced and Hosted by Mike King   In Episode 5 of The Loadstar Podcast, Mike King is joined by Loadstar shipping reporter Mike Wackett, Eric Reuter, Forto’s Vice President for Asia, and Happy Chau, a fashion logistics expert and Director of Sales with Transpacific specialist OEC Group. They examine how shipping and logistics have become mainstream news, what impact Covid outbreaks are having on ports, airports and freight rates, and why carriers are increasingly favouring longer contracts and larger shippers. Jefferies analyst Randy Giveans {from 22.30) explains how the markets are reacting to record carrier profits, and where all the extra cash will likely be spent. And James Hookham (from 34.15), the outspoken director of the Global Shippers Forum, gives a freight buyers’ perspective on current markets in an exclusive Q&A. ...

Credits: Created, Produced and Hosted by Mike King Episode 6 of The Loadstar Podcast turns its focus on the chaos currently affecting global container trades. Mike King is joined by a ‘who’s who’ of shipping and forwarding CEOs and analysts as they explore: When the container shipping pricing madness might end? What needs to change to unblock global trade? And, with regulators now turning their gaze on box shipping, do carriers truly appreciate the terrible optics of reporting record profits while customers are suffering woeful service levels and breath-taking surcharges? Participants in this episode: John Butler, World Shipping Council (WSC) president and CEO  Sarah Banks, Global Lead, Freight and Logistics at Accenture Kelvin Leung, Asia Pacific CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Soren Toft, CEO of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Nick Saviddes, Loadstar News Editor Jon Gold, Vice President, Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation Paul Page, Editor of the WSJ Logistics Report Daniel Maffei, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman  Lars Jensen, Vespucci Maritime CEO   ...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing significant supply chain issues as carriers, ports and forwarders cancel services due to the fear of carrying or handling sanctioned cargo or incurring reputational damage.  The Black Sea, meanwhile, has been classified as a high-risk war zone by the Joint War Committee, a move that has hit imports and exports. Europe’s open skies have also been dramatically closed with all sorts of implications for airlines. In Part 1 of this episode, we explore what War in Europe and sanctions regimes means on a practical level if you’re in the business of logistics and freight. We ask what next for air cargo and shipping operations and freight rates? And what does this invasion mean for rail services from Asia to Europe? We also hear how logistics companies are helping the humanitarian effort and what we can all do to help. And we hear the traumatic story of one seafarer who was on the wrong end of Russian missiles in the Black Sea. In Part 2, we look longer-term. Is this the end of the post-world War 2 rules-based order on which global trade and globalisation itself were built? And, if so, what does this mean for the supply chain landscape on which you all plan and compete?   Guests Michael Every, Global Strategist at Rabobank Ami Daniel, CEO of Windward Adrian Batayen, seafarer on the Namura Queen, a vessel attacked by the Russian Navy off Ukraine in the Black Sea Chris Weeks, VP, Humanitarian Affairs, Deutsche Post DHL Alex Lennane, Publisher, The Loadstar Nick Savvides, News Editor, The Loadstar   Episode in more detail Part 1 Missiles and escape from the Black Sea (2.43) Air space closures – impact on air cargo capacity and rates (8.32) Rail to ocean? (13.20) Sanctions ...