Unusually tight capacity for the time of year is leading to rising rates, booking restrictions and backlogs for European exporters needing to ship from Europe to the Middle East and Asia. This is in part attributed to exceptionally high levels of post Chinese New Year shipping cancellations, which have meant price increases for Europe to…
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The first rail freight service from the UK to China departed on its 17 day, 7500 mile journey on April 10th. British goods including soft drinks, vitamins and baby products are in the 30 containers carried by the train, which will be a regular service.The DP World locomotive left its terminal in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, for…
The latest figures from Drewry's Sea and Air Shipper Insight report show that average ‘all-in’ air freight rates across 21 major east-west trade lanes increased by 7.9% year on year in March to reach $2.84 per kg. Prices were also up on February levels when airlines achieved an average price across the trade lanes of…
The worlds largest container ship, the MOL Triumph, set off on her maiden voyage from Xingang, China on the 10th April. With a gross tonnage of 210678, deadweight of 197500 tonnes and length and breadth of 400m x 59m it certainly does pack a punch - with the ability to carry 20,150 twenty foot containers.…
Since 2013 China have been advertising the One Belt One Road initiative, a scheme to join a network of roads, ports, railways and other links from East China through Southeast and South Central Asia to Europe. This belt of land based links is paired with the Maritime Silk Road, which stretches from Australia to Zanzibar.…
Following on from our drone article last month, it has recently been announced that a drone the size of a Boeing 777 airliner could soon be launched by a start up firm in California. A prototype will be tested this summer after which all being well a full scale version will be launched in 2020.…
According to a new study, motorists who rely on computer navigation devices do in fact “switch off” part of their brain in the process. A University College London team took 24 volunteers on a two-hour walking tour of Soho, then asked them to “drive” a computer-simulated car through the area’s narrow streets the following day.…
In the current economic climate post Brexit, leaving the EU means that foreign relations have become more important than ever. Here are our 6 top tips for importing goods from China… 1. Ensure that the goods are permitted in your country, and that they are correctly classified. International trade is heavily regulated, and Supreme Freight…
New London Gateway services are now available to and from the Far East in the wake of big changes in shipping alliances. The recent changes are affecting the location and timing of many international shipments, one of the notable benefits however is that the London Gateway now has deep seas connections for the first time.…
2016 saw a record loss for the cargo division of the Air France KLM group. The French-Dutch airline recorded a full-year operating loss of €244m, compared with a €245m loss in 2015. This was a 14% year on year decline as a result of structural industry overcapacity and a decline in traffic of 6.3% to…