Manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and following on from a successful run of ground evaluations, the AG600 is expected to take off from land for the first time this month. With a maximum take off weight of 53.5 tonnes, the amphibious plane is similar in size to a boeing 737. It…
June 21, 2017 /
The changes in shipping alliances recently put in place have have already had a big impact on European ports. Coming into effect on April 1st, shippers have experienced significant changes in their carriers’ service networks. On the trans-Pacific trade alone, the alliances will offer 18% fewer direct routes and 33% of the routes will have…
In mid May, Uber announced the Uber Freight App, which connects trucking companies and drivers with shippers. In similarity to its ride sharing app, users will be able to view near by drivers and book loads, sending a rate confirmation within seconds. However, it faces stiff competition from already established apps in the freight industry. …
June 7, 2017 /
Eurotunnel brought 3 new freight shuttle carriers for lorries into service at the end of April. They will provide 20% more capacity and mean that Eurotunnel can offer up to 8 departures an hour at peak times instead of the current 6. With a cost of 40 million euros, this could be seen as a…
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…
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.…