Consultancy firm Deloitte says the coronavirus is the first of a series of significant disruptors the maritime industry will face in this decade. There will be major impacts on global shipping, and it will require the shipping industry to pivot quickly to tackle them.
One disruptor which the industry is already undergoing is climate regulation and the goal of reducing and ultimately, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. The market insight report produced by Indra Vonck, senior manager at Deloitte’s port center of excellence and the ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation) pointed to sustainability and the transition to green fuels as another significant challenge requiring a fundamental shift in shipping, likely to span several decades. Other disruptors include climate events such as storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes, the adoption of new technologies alongside increased digitalization, and geopolitical challenges such trade disputes.
Vonck warns that disruptors will accelerate in intensity moving forward and uncertainty will be a constant factor, making responses even more difficult. “The losers will focus on the old school model. Winners are flexible, investing in and adapting data to optimize their business. They are more efficient and innovative," Vonck commented.
Source: Shipping Watch
More cities in China are going into lockdown following the country’s zero-COVID policy. While container loading and discharge at Ningbo-Zhoushan port is operating normally, access to the port and bringing containers in and out of the port have been restricted because less than 25% of registered truckers have the required paperwork to access the terminals at Beilun.
The city of Xi’an in the west of the country has been under lockdown for a fortnight and most transport including flights to the city are cut off. The city of Zhengzhou on the banks of the Yellow River is under partial lockdown. The city of Yuzhou has 1m citizens under stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has imposed a two-week flight ban from eight nations – Australia Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, the U.K., and U.S.
A report by Goldman Sachs suggested China will stick with its zero-Covid approach this year. “We doubt policy makers would eliminate quarantines before then. With transmission typically higher in the winter months, it’s possible that border restrictions could be kept largely intact until spring 2023,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.
Source: Splash247.com
2022 clearly continuing where 2021 left off.
Over the past week we have also seen freight stuck at the land border crossing with Vietnam as the border is closed due to Covid-induced lockdowns in China's Guangxi province.
Evidently China continues the zero-tolerance policy regarding Covid. For the purpose of understanding the supply chains, it doesn't matter whether you agree or not with China's chosen strategy, it is simply a fact that such a policy does increase the risk of more operational disruptions due to lock down. And it is also a fact that the Omicron variant is more contagious than previous variant. Hence the risks of larger disruptions to not only supply chains but also manufacturing are significant in the next weeks.
Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime
Air cargo demand in December 2021 registered a further -5% decline compared to 2019 levels. The decrease comes on the heels of a -3% decline in November 2021 against November 2019. Despite falling demand, December’s rates have jumped 168% compared to 2019. The dynamic load factor went up two percentage points and cargo capacity shrank by 19% compared to December 2019 levels according to CLIVE Data Services.
“The wear and tear of close to 20 months of COVID started to really impact the efficiency of the value chain towards the end of 2021, and there are still no fundamental changes expected in the short-term that would change the current dynamics of supply chain shortages and elevated rates,” the company said.
Source: Air Cargo News
