Category: Supply Chain

Research uncovers scale of Red Sea disruption

New research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found that over half of importing manufacturers and retailers (53%) have been impacted by the disruption to shipping caused by the Red Sea crisis, with over half of exporters (55%) also experiencing increased costs and delays. The issu... Read more

US importers face inventory replenishment quandary

Many US companies, including big retailers, were successful over the course of 2023 in clearing out the stockpiles of inventory, that they built up during the pandemic to cope with shipping disruptions and changing buying patterns. During the pandemic many retailers and manufacturers flipped f... Read more

OCEAN Alliance seek stability

Although there was market speculation that a member of the OCEAN Alliance might be tempted to leave and join THE Alliance in 2027, a new agreement by the remaining members makes it very unlikely this decade. Seeking to send a clear message of stability, after Hapag Lloyd’s defection to the G... Read more

Red Sea crisis; situation report

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) is already reporting multiple new Houthi attacks on vessels, following two missile strikes on the British registered general cargo vessel “Rubymar” on Sunday, which the crew had to abandon on Monday. The Rubymar attack was followed by a merchant ves... Read more

Transpacific container shipping

If we were to try and define a single factor that defined transpacific container shipping (along with most other routes) in 2023, it would probably be shipper complacency brought about by the rebalancing and normalisation of supply chains, following the unprecedented disruption of the COVID years... Read more

Our unique transatlantic shipping line

We have been supporting bi-lateral UK/USA trade, with air and sea freight services, for over four decades, which is why we are so excited by our in-house shipping line, Ellerman City Liners, transatlantic capacity deal with the world’s biggest shipping line, MSC. Ellerman’s weekly sailing ... Read more

Red Sea impact on time-critical modes

Shippers’ concerns about Red Sea supply chain delays, plus an early Lunar New Year, pushed up air cargo volumes by 10% in January, but the availability of capacity has kept a lid on spot rates on most routes. While there has been no definitive immediate increase in air cargo demand due to th... Read more

The transpacific container shipping outlook

Transpacific container shipping lines are imposing surcharges and higher freight rates due to the ongoing Suez and Panama Canal disruptions, with the cost burden felt most by small volume shippers, but the biggest cargo owners are also feeling the heat.  Since the major container shipping lin... Read more

Red Sea Crisis insurance withdrawals – fact or fiction?

In addition to fast-rising ocean freight rates and extended transit times, as the container shipping lines divert around Africa, shippers have been struggling to understand what (if any) insurance is in place, with insurance companies massively increasing war risk premiums and no longer willing t... Read more

The Gemini Cooperation

On the 17th January 2024, the 33rd day of the Red Sea crisis, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that they were forming a new shipping alliance - The Gemini Cooperation - in a major shake-up to the container shipping market on the East-West trade lanes. Industry analysts have been predicting tha... Read more