Air Freight

Capacity update by country –
Worst affected routes are China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Nigeria to the rest of the world, where capacity is currently reduced by about 90% although there is an increased number of charters available from China. Rates are very high with most products coming out as PPE and healthcare equipment. China and the UK have implemented further checks for both the export and import.

The USA, Canada and Angola have the most capacity available to the rest of the world, with near normal levels of freight.

Russia, Australia and Mexico are currently about 50% capacity.

Europe to the rest of the world has capacity issues – Spain, France and the UK are the worst affected with capacity down by up to 70%, the least affected routes are currently Norway, Sweden, Germany and Italy.

Overall global air capacity has begun to stabilise, albeit at 35% below the 2019 levels, but rates on some routes continue to climb – particularly China to Europe where we are seeing $8.88 for scheduled flights next week.

In the UK Heathrow have had a 20% increase in cargo only flights and recorded their busiest day for cargo on 31st March receiving 38 cargo flights in one day where the norm is 47 per week.

Sea Freight
In addition to reduced capacity – 250 sailings have already been withdrawn in the second quarter, we are seeing unprecedented levels of congestion at ports worldwide, which is having a knock on effect on global supply chain.
Warehouses and distribution centres in the USA and Europe are almost full, and this is causing shippers to try and slow inbound sea freight whilst looking for container storage at origin or destination.

At the India East Coast gateway of Chennai reportedly has 50,000 containers piled up at port, the numbers across all ports are adding up with container yards full of empties which is set to create further supply chain disruption.
The social lockdowns are preventing Dockers from unloading and truckers from collecting and as cargo is piling up at port, exporters could end up counting the cost.

Some exporters selling goods under CPT incoterm (Carriage Paid To) could be caught out. Where the seller delivers goods at their expense to a carrier or nominated person, as well as all risks until the goods are in the hands of the receiving party. At the other end if consignees are not accepting the freight, liability goes back to the shipper, landing them with storage, detention and demurrage charges they had not been expecting.

If you need advice on your shipping, please contact us on +44 (0) 1622 237 979 we are still moving goods for our clients, our account managers are all working normal hours to ensure we keep the supply chain moving.

We are generating and returning quotes as quickly as possible and are continually negotiating rates and routes to get the best solution.

Warehouse and Domestic Freight

If you are looking for warehouse storage or domestic freight services, our warehouses and drivers are operating as usual, adhering to government guidelines on contact-less delivery and social distancing.

Contact your account manager or one of the team by phone +44 (0) 1622 237 979 or email sales@tps-global.com