Dear Valued Customer,
Following up on earlier released advisories we wish to provide a fresh general update across transport modes and geographies.
As most will know, the situation in China has stabilized, and the wheels are slowly, but surely turning again and cargo flows are moving and this both within ocean, rail and airfreight.
Increasingly focus had turned to Europe, South East Asia and the Americas where a similar situation is now seen as in China when the outbreak was as its highest.
General
Overall daily business is under the circumstances running smoothly, and our contingency plan is in full effect. Many of our people working from home, ensuring all business is handled with urgency.
For further details on specific countries and mode of transport see our traffic light update below, otherwise here is a summary:
Airfreight
The situation on airfreight is significantly more impacted than ocean freight due to significant lower capacity as a result of flight restrictions around the globe. This also impacts rate levels which remain very volatile and high. Demand out of Asia and specifically China is very high in order to clear backlogs from the lock-down, and we encourage to consider all transport modes out of Asia incl. Sea/Air and Rail transport.
Overall, we are in a situation where we can find the needed solutions and capacity to and from Asia, albeit with different routings, adjusted transit times and subject to short term pricing.
With new measures implemented in the US and severe flight restrictions in place new solutions incl. freighters are being put in place in order to meet demand. At Scan Global Logistics, we are a part of these efforts and remain committed to moving cargo to and from the US and will announce new solutions as they become available.
Ocean freight
The main challenge on ocean freight remains equipment availability as a large portion of the global container pool is not deployed in the needed locations as a result of proper re-positioning which have been impossible over the last weeks and months. Significant efforts are being made to evacuate equipment from the overflow regions to regions with shortage of equipment; however, a shortage of containers can be expected into April.
Pricing remains volatile, given a significant imbalance between supply and demand. On top of that, emergency surcharges are implemented on specific trades, especially on export from Europe to Asia.
With this said overall the situation on ocean freight remains somewhat stable taking the situation into account and cargo is flowing.
Rail freight
Rail to/from China and Europe remains a very good alternative mode of transport, and we have seen a significant surge in rail volume over the last weeks. The flows are moving, and we overall see a green light for rail shipments, albeit with a significant pressure on the capacity side.
We encourage that all customers consider rail as an alternative to airfreight and ocean freight basis competitive lead-time solutions and a significant price saving compared to airfreight.
Road freight
On overland Road services in Europe, we generally see that we are running operations with no major disruptions and cargo is reaching its destination with only minor delays at times. There are a few isolated restrictions in place locally around Europe, e.g. distribution of general cargo (non-food stuff) in France is prohibited as per 17.03.2020 as an example.
Borders remain open for cargo movement, but naturally, some form of delay is to be expected due to increased waiting times at the respective borders.
Some effect on pricing is also apparent, and we are keeping customers updated on this as the situation develops.
This information is offered to the best of our knowledge and is prone to change.