Freight Market Update: April 26, 2023

• [Ocean-TAWB] As more vessels and carriers have entered the market, there is plenty of supply with shipping lines looking for extra cargo to fill the additional capacity. This situation is expected to last beyond Q2 2023.
• [Ocean-LATAM] Capacity has opened up due to softer demand and ocean carriers deploying new services or adding additional capacity to existing service rotations. This has put pressure on rates as supply exceeds demand—we expect the situation to remain beyond Q2.
• [Air-Asia > N. America/EU] We expect freighter capacity to drop as older aircrafts are retired or scrapped as they cannot make money under current economic conditions. Overall capacity should be slightly net positive in Q2 but will reduce in Q3 with the end of the summer travel period.
• [Air-LATAM] Brazil: Required lead time is similar month over month—the lead time from requesting the booking to the airline until uplift is 2 to 4 days for Standard service on average, but will vary depending on the airline and route. Shorter lead time available on Express service.
• [Air/Ocean-India] Space is available and schedules are reliable for both modes out of India/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh. Air cargo space is tight into the U.S. and EU for Pakistan with occasional flight delays. Equipment has good availability.
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The latest forecasts released by Flexport Research show a steady increase in consumption, among other signs that recession isn’t as imminent as previously thought. “A recession may well be on the way, but from the latest data, we’re not seeing it arriving in the next few months,” said Phil Levy, Flexport chief economist. At the same time, the U.S. domestic trucking industry showed the largest decline in tonnage hauled since the beginning of the pandemic, as the truck tonnage index fell 5.4% in March over February.

[Podcast] What Are Responsible Supply Chains and What Role Does Trust, Transparency and Technology Play in Achieving Them?

In this latest episode of Zero100’s “Radical Reinvention” podcast, Zero100 Co-Founder Kevin O’Marah is joined by: Dave Clark, CEO of Flexport, Anne-Laure Descours, Chief Sourcing Officer at PUMA, and Reginaldo Ecclissato, Chief Business Operations and Supply Chain Officer at Unilever. The discussion is a deep dive into responsible supply chains and the role that trust, transparency and technology play in achieving them—as Dave says, “I don’t think you can be in the supply chain anymore without waking up and thinking about your impact on people and the planet.”
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