This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
.TOP NEWS
Canada clears 5 firms to bid on COVID-19 vaccine distribution contract
American Shipper
Kuehne + Nagel, McKesson Canada, UPS Healthcare and FedEx Canada jointly with Innomar Strategies have prequalified to bid for a Canadian government contract to distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccines, according to a public procurement notice.
The Public Procurement Agency of Canada, which is overseeing the process, did not explain in the notice posted Monday why the five prequalified. But it moves the federal government one step closer to locking down its logistics providers for the massive undertaking of getting vaccines from manufacturers to 38 million people in Canada.
|
|
Canada to exit pandemic with lower growth potential, permanent labour force scarring
Financial Post
The Bank of Canada's top deputy said the country is likely to come out of the pandemic with a lower outlook for potential growth and permanent labour force scarring, and that conventional wisdom must be challenged to find solutions.
In a recent speech, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins reiterated the central bank projects potential output will be 3 per cent lower by the end of 2022 versus their pre-pandemic forecast, with weak capital investment accounting for the bulk of the reduced potential.
|
|
.RAIL
Rail traffic for the week ending November 14, 2020
AAR.org
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 14, 2020.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,462 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.2 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending November 14 were 232,146 carloads, down 3.1 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 295,316 containers and trailers, up 12.9 percent compared to 2019.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Quasar is an end-to-end supply chain optimization platform that enables the management and cost control of the supply chain for shippers. It’s a fully cloud enabled and digital platform designed to automate manual effort in tracking assets, as well as provide data and insights into how to optimize the supply chain from “order to cash.”
|
|
Containerized grain shippers feeling brunt of tight market
American Shipper
North American containerized grain shippers are feeling the effects of the tight container market and there's no relief in sight.
"It's very difficult to get containers to move grain," said Greg Northey, vice president of corporate affairs for Pulse Canada. About 30% of what Canadian pulse producers export travels via containers.
Rates have gotten so high that it makes the whole supply chain uncompetitive, Northey said. Pulse producers can book a container, but they risk not having any containers available at the ports, he said.
|
|
CN, CP named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Progressive Railroading
CN and Canadian Pacific both announced yesterday they've been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which tracks the stock performance of leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.
For CN, this year marks the ninth consecutive year that the Class I has been listed on the DJSI World Index and the 12th consecutive year that it has been listed on the DJSI North America Index, CN officials said in a press release.
|
|
CN marks 25 years as publicly traded company
Progressive Railroadikng
CN marked the 25th anniversary of the date the Canadian government put the railroad's shares up for sale to investors.
At CA$2.25 billion, the sale was the largest initial public offering in Canadian history. And at the time, CN was the largest and oldest crown corporation in Canada.
"The privatization of CN was anticipated with widespread skepticism, but executed with startling success and today it is the source of enormous price for our employees and all those involved over the years," said CN President and Chief Executive Officer JJ Ruest in a press release.
|
|
.TRUCKING
Covid-19 affecting cargo theft trends
Truck News
North American cargo theft is on the rise this year, and the Covid-19 pandemic caused a spike in cargo crime in April.
April 2020 saw a 107% jump in cargo thefts compared to April 2019, according to CargoNet, which gave an update during its Cargo Theft and Transportation Summit Nov. 10.
There have been 1,080 reported thefts in the U.S. and Canada so far this year, up to Sept. 30.
|
|
.AIR
A third of the world's air routes have been lost due to COVID
AJOT
Before the coronavirus, a decades-long aviation boom spawned a network of nearly 50,000 air routes that traversed the world. In less than a year, the pandemic has wiped almost a third of them off the map.
Border closures, nationwide lockdowns and the fear of catching Covid-19 from fellow passengers have crippled commercial travel. As thousands of domestic and international connections disappear completely from airline timetables, the world has suddenly stopped shrinking.
|
|
Ottawa may draw on high-interest federal loan program for airline bailout
Inside Logistics
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says a federal loan program little-loved by industry will be among the options Ottawa weighs as it sits down with airline executives to negotiate a government aid package.
The Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) could play a key role in lifting carriers out of the dire financial straits caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Bains said at a news conference recently.
|
|
New IATA guidance prepares for global vaccine distribution
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released guidance to ensure that the air cargo industry is ready to support the large-scale handling, transport and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. IATA's Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution provides recommendations for governments and the logistics supply chain in preparation for what will be the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken.
|
|
New resources help aviation logistics firms plan for COVID-19 vaccine
American Shipper
Logistics industry preparation to assist with the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is largely built on educated guesses because of an information hole about precise shipping requirements for each drug and who has the necessary cold storage and transportation capacity. The International Air Transport Association and the Cool Chain Association this week released tools and guidance to help remove that cloud of uncertainty and foster end-to-end collaboration across the supply chain.
|
|
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo ready to distribute COVID-19 vaccines
Air Cargo Week
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo have been making every effort to keep vital supply chains in place amidst the pandemic. Approximately 6,000 cargo-only flights have been carried out in recent months. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is currently operating services to more than 100 long-haul destinations.
The next logistical challenge will be the global distribution of the Covid-19 vacciness.
|
|
FAA clears Boeing 737 MAX to fly again
Transport Topics
After nearly two years and a pair of deadly crashes, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Boeing's 737 Max for flight.
The nation's air safety agency announced the move early Nov. 18, saying it was done after a "comprehensive and methodical" 20-month review process.
|
|
.MARINE
St. Lawrence Seaway, Canadian cargo volumes increase
World-Grain
The 2020 grain shipping season picked up in October at Canadian ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway with increased grain exports.
According to the Chamber of Marine Commerce, The St. Lawrence Seaway reported that overall seaway cargo shipments from April 1 to Oct. 31 reached 27.7 million tonnes, a 7.9% dip compared to the same period in 2019.
|
|
Maersk Q3 profits surge — and Q4 looks even better
American Shipper
On Feb. 20, in the early days of the COVID crisis, passengers were disembarking an infected Princess cruise ship in Japan. Residents of Wuhan, China, were in total lockdown. The very first case was diagnosed in Italy. Also on that day, container giant A.P. Moller-Maersk released its 2019 annual report and 2020 guidance.
That guidance turned out to be very wrong.
Back in February, Maersk projected full-year 2020 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $5.5 billion.
|
|
Seaway cargo volumes improve with Canadian grain shipments now up 21 percent
Chamber of Marine Commerce
As the 2020 shipping season heads into the final months of the year, cargo shipments on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway made some gains in October as grain continues to hold strong in an otherwise rocky year. Overall Seaway cargo shipments (from April 1 to October 31) reached nearly 27.7 million tonnes, down 7.9 per cent from the same timeframe in 2019.
|
|
MSC tipped to overtake Maersk at the top of the liner rankings
Splash 247
Maersk, the world's largest containerline for the past quarter century, could soon lose its top spot on the global liner rankings list to its alliance partner, MSC.
MSC has been very active in recent weeks in the secondhand tonnage market, and is being widely tipped to be on the cusp of a major order for a 23,000 teu class series.
Analysts at Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence suggested in a report out on Sunday that MSC might soon overtake Maersk as the world's largest carrier.
|
|
'Chinese authorities say there needs to be a rates ceiling': Saadé
Splash 247
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman of CMA CGM, the world's fourth largest containerline, has discussed the pressure liners are coming under from Beijing amid the red-hot freight rate environment that is causing supply chains to quiver.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Saadé said that Chinese authorities are determined to try and keep a lid on rates, especially on the transpacific, where prices have soared in the last three months. Soaring demand on the tradelane has created acute container shortages that are being felt around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
50 Minthorn Boulevard, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontairo, Canada L3T 7X8
|
