FIATA e-Flash No 198, 23 April

FIATA AND MEMBERS

2019 RAME Field Meeting Beirut, Lebanon – June 24-26th
RAME Beirut 2019 is the perfect meeting point for a rich Networking experience & an inestimable opportunity to exchange Knowledge & challenges to develop the sector, get hold of valuable information and learnings in the field of logistics and promote alliances and business between The Middle East, Africa and the world.
The Lebanese Forwarders Syndicate have gathered some of the top leaders in the logistics, freight forwarding and shipping industry ranging from UNCTAD, WTO, TradeLens. In addition, the FIATA President, Mr Babar Badat will also join us in Beirut to discuss issues that are related to developing, modernizing and reforming the freight sector.
For further details and how to register, please visit the field meeting website – https://rame2019.com/

13th Field Meeting of the Region Asia/Pacific – June 10th, 2019
Members of the of the Region Asia Pacific are kindly invited to join the 13th RAP Field Meeting of the RAP. The meeting will be held in Bangkok on June 10, 2019. FIATA is grateful for the kind hospitality, support, contribution and assistance we are receiving from the Thai International Freight Forwarders Association (TIFFA) for their help in arranging this meeting to make it successful.
This meeting is being held in conjunction with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) forum allowing participants the opportunity to join both meetings. This opens the door for great private public partnership opportunities for FIATA delegates to engage directly with policy makers on advancing industry issues.
More information, registration and hotel booking form on the FIATA Website under FIATA Meetings.

 

FIATA WORLD CONGRESS 2019

Early registration and accommodation rates available until 30 April.
Register now for the World Congress of the FIATA2019 World Congress taking place in Cape Town, South Africa from 1 to 5 October 2019.
Online registration is quick and easy and you can book social events and accommodation at the same time. Conveniently pay with a credit card or request an invoice.
Visit the website for more information: www.fiata2019.org
Or email the Congress Organiser: info(at)fiata2019.org

FIATA Seeks New Director General
In seeking a new Director-General, the FIATA President, Mr. Babar Badat acknowledged the work of its outgoing Director General Hans Guenther Kersten. He commented that FIATA as the world’s largest non-governmental organization in the field of freight transportation and logistics remains committed to excellence in service to its Association Members and ensuring that FIATA’s Individual Members receive the benefit of strong brand recognition and the continued recognition of FIATA by governmental and non-governmental bodies in international trade.
“The changing face of global trade and emerging trends in e-commerce, will be high on the agenda for the new Director General. For a person wishing to be at the cutting edge of international trade and logistics this role at FIATA will be that challenge” he stated.
For more details please refer to – https://fiata.com/media/press-releases/2019/12-april.html

UK forwarders given guidance on trade in endangered species in a no-deal Brexit
UK freight forwarders have received additional guidance on the regulations concerning the trade in endangered species. Robert Keen, director general of BIFA, the trade association that represents the UK’s freight forwarding sector, said: “One of the consequences of Brexit will be that freight forwarders and customs agents will become involved in regimes with which they may not have been previously.
BIFA sought greater guidance from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and its members attended a regional meeting in Dover to hear from officials at the department which has now issued additional guidance on CITES.
For more details, please visit: https://www.aircargonews.net/freight-forwarder/uk-forwarders-given-guidance-on-trade-in-endangered-species-in-a-no-deal-brexit/

 

WORLD ECONOMY

Shippers and forwarders team-up to drive greener supply chains
European shippers and freight forwarders have teamed up to try and try and improve the logistics sector’s environmental performance.
The European Shippers’ Council (ESC) and forwarder group Clecat contributed to the LEARN project on logistics emissions accounting, which kicked off in October 2016 and finished in March 2019.
FIATA has a dedicated body, the Working Group on Sustainable Logistics, that works towards advocating for sustainability among our members and throughout the logistics industry working with UN bodies such UNEP and UNFCCC. In addition to targeted position papers, we also work to identify products that can be implemented by our members in their day to day activities, one that is in focus for 2019 would be a greenhouse gas emission calculator.
For more details, please visit: https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news19_e/rta_04apr19_e.htm

Trump Withdraws Sanctions on Two Chinese Freight Forwarders
“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea,” the president wrote. “I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!”
The U.S. Treasury did not announce any North Korea-related measures on Friday, but on Thursday its Office of Foreign Asset Control added two more companies to its sanctions blacklist. The entities affected by Treasury’s action Thursday were Dalian Haibo International Freight and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding, both located in Dalian, China.
For more details, please visit: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/trump-withdraws-sanctions-on-two-chinese-freight-forwarders

 

SEA FREIGHT

Container shipping line acquires freight forwarding and logistics group
The loss making CEVA is to pass into French ownership as scheduled for 16 April 2019, when CMA CGM will hold 97.89% of the assets. The firm will then be delisted from the Zurich Stock Exchange.
There is no word of a rebranding exercise yet, but it would be no surprise if the CEVA name disappears as the French container line has plans to create an operational centre in Marseilles, where it is headquartered, to ‘consolidate the management teams and accelerate CEVA Logistics’ return to profit’.
FIATA Published a second edition of its Best Practices on Container Shipping and Quality of Containers last week. Our Working Group Sea noticed that the quality of containers provided by shipping lines in global container shipping has decreased significantly. One has to come to the conclusion that shipping lines are cutting cost in the maintenance of their equipment.
For more details, please visit: http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/container-shipping-line-acquires-stake-in-major-logistics-and-freight-forwarding-outfit_9009

European container consortium gets okay to talk tech
A group of the world’s biggest container ship companies aims to end the Tower of Babel built over the last half century in ocean freight.
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), comprised of Maersk (Nasdaq OMX: MAER.B), Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Hapag-Lloyd (XETRA: HLAG), and Ocean Network Express (ONE) said it is officially open after the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission gave its permission to allow the carriers to talk amongst themselves.
For more details, please visit: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime/port-report-digitial-container-shipping-zencargo

From Vessel Sharing to Digital Partnerships as the Ocean Container Freight Carriers Collaborate
After gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) last month, four container shipping companies, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express (ONE), have officially established the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) last week in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The aim is to create common information technology standards to make the ocean freight transport industry more efficient for both customers and shipping lines. The plan to create a neutral, non-profit association for ocean carriers was first announced in November 2018.
For more details, please visit: https://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/from-vessel-sharing-to-digital-partnerships-as-the-ocean-container-freight-carriers-collaborate_11872

 

AIR FREIGHT

Forwarders find capacity gains with global grounding of 737 MAX
Ryan Owens, Business Development Manager for the company, shares what the grounding of the 737 MAX has meant so far to the Aloha State. “Airlines are continuing to shift to narrow-body aircraft from wide-body aircraft due to passenger demand and fuel efficiency for domestic travel within North America.
While passengers are happy with these changes, freight forwarders in the business of moving large volumes of cargo, particularly in ULDs (unit load devices), are challenged by this downsizing.” (A unit load device is a pallet or container used to load luggage, freight and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows a large quantity of cargo to be bundled into a single unit.)
For more details, please visit: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/airfreight/forwarders-find-capacity-gains-with-global-grounding-of-737-max

Pursuing an Agenda for Romanian and EU Aviation Competitiveness
(IATA) urged the Romanian government to focus on aviation competitiveness as a means to strengthen the economy of Romania. In addition, Romania’s Presidency of the European Union gives it a powerful opportunity to push policies for stronger aviation competitiveness across the whole of the EU.
Air transport is a key enabler of economic activity in Romania, supporting 107,000 jobs and contributing EUR 2.3 billion to the economy.
For more details, please visit: https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2019-04-12-01.aspx

 

RAIL AND ROAD FREIGHT

DOT Wants to Weigh In on Emerging Transportation Technology
Safety issues, of course, have been front and center due to the issue of accidents involving autonomous cars. In October of 2018, Chao introduced guidelines for automated vehicles, advancing its “commitment to supporting the safe integration of automation into the broad multimodal surface transportation system.
“The NETT Council represents a major step forward in reducing regulatory burdens and paving the way for emerging technologies in the transportation industry,” as reported byThe American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials journal.
For more details, please visit: https://www.mhlnews.com/transportation-distribution/dot-wants-weigh-emerging-transportation-technology

Freight and Logistics Associations Split on NIC Report Planning Demise of Diesel Lorries
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has released a new report which recommends that Ministers should ban the sale of new diesel HGV lorries by no later than 2040, news that has split the opinions of key industry associations.
The report, ‘Better Delivery: the challenge for freight’ looks to ensure the UK’s logistics industry is fit for the future to better cope with a growing population and increasing demand for goods, leading ultimately to dire effects on the environment, particularly with reference to HGVs and
For more details, please visit: https://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/freight-and-logistics-associations-split-on-nic-report-planning-demise-of-diesel-lorries_11873

 

INNOVATIONS

IBM/Maersk’s TradeLens adds major carrier ZIM
Yesterday Israeli ZIM Integrated Shipping Services announced it has signed on to the TradeLens blockchain shipping solution. The platform is a joint development between the world’s largest container shipper Maersk and IBM. Some have claimed Maersk’s involvement as a disincentive for other shipping lines to get involved. So the signing of the world’s 11th largest carrier is a massive win.
The TradeLens platform aims to bring together different parties including carriers, freight forwarders, customs officials and others. The ultimate aim is to digitize the documentation process through collaboration, but still to maintain privacy.
During FIATA’s 2018 World Congress in Delhi, India, our Advisory Body Information Technology Session hosted a panel with Maersk and IBM to better understand how our industry could contribute towards the Tradelens project. We look forward to continuing the discussion with our partners with the goal of enhancing efficiency throughout sea transport.
For more details, please visit: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/blockchain/blockchain-in-transport-alliance-welcomes-hong-kong-based-tigers

Blockchain roaming in the maritime industry
There is no shadow of a doubt that the hottest topic of the maritime technology space is blockchain and how it is going to transform our commercial operations. In its ideal form, a blockchain platform is a distributed ledger which records transactions between parties in a verifiable and, most importantly, permanent way by using a cryptographic hash.
When all major parties approve and implement a single blockchain system, then the entire commercial channel would be transformed into a super rapid, secure and totally digitalised environment. However, dreams do not come true especially when it smells like a monopoly of moderating such a massive and confidential digital network.
For more details, please visit: https://splash247.com/blockchain-roaming-in-the-maritime-industry/

Logistics startup Zencargo raises $20M
Move over, Flexport. There is another player looking to make waves in the huge and messy business of freight logistics. Zencargo a London startup that has built a platform that uses machine learning and other new technology to rethink how large shipping companies and their customers manage and move cargo, or freight forwarding as it’s known in the industry – has closed a Series A round of funding of about $19 million.
For companies like Zencargo, that creates a two-fold opportunity: to ship finished goods – be it clothes, food or anything – to meet those consumer demands wherever they are; and to ship components for those goods – be it electronics, textiles or flour – to produce those goods elsewhere, wherever that business happens to be.
FIATA welcomes new and innovative technological solutions aimed at improving efficiencies and operations throughout the freight forwarding and logistics industry. This is why we are working towards digitalizing our Bill of Lading aimed at Small and Medium sized FIATA members in an effort to provide them tools that would streamline their processes and improve efficiency.
For more details, please visit: https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/how_can_freight_forwarding_move_forward