🔔 Weekend report

NEWS

Migrant surge in El Paso is causing cross-border truck drivers to undergo inspections, disrupting trade flows between Mexico and the U.S.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) inspections returned Wednesday at the Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge in El Paso and the Camino Real Bridge in Eagle Pass. Both wait times range from 100-180 minutes.

Since the checkpoints are separate truck inspections conducted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to end drug trafficking, it has excessively slowed truck crossings because each truck has to stop for an additional examination.

“We hope that frequent enhanced commercial vehicle safety inspections will help deter cartel smuggling activity along our southern border while increasing the safety of our roadways,” — DPS Director Steven McCraw

Estes submitted a bid last week that was higher than their competitor, Old Dominion Freight Line's $1.5 billion offer. Estes' bid also had lower bid protections. They started the bidding with an initial offer of $1.3 billion.

The bid determines the minimum price for Yellow's service centers. Estes probably won't get all 174 terminals right away, as there will still be a sales process. (The deadline for bids on the terminals is November 9th, and if necessary, an auction will be held on November 28th.)

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing around 22,000 former Yellow employees, has called for an investigation into the company's bankruptcy by the U.S. Senate. The auction will then move on to Yellow's owned rolling stock, which consists of about 12,000 tractors and 35,000 trailers.

The Port of Savannah is getting all the love from New ZIM service and is a magnet for grapes, citrus, blueberries, and avocados.

Apparently, the service is so good that ZIM’s Colibri Xpress will be making weekly runs to her port to deliver fresh produce and support the high demand of perishable products from the West Coast of South America.

The Georgia port offers 3,000 refrigerated containers and its growing network includes agriculture inspections, cold treatment/retreatment services, fumigation, and repacking.

ECONOMY

Two major carriers reveal the details of the estimated surcharges shippers and customers will face as early as January 1, 2024, as liners follow the compliance of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are warning customers of the significant surcharge increase which will be applied to all applicable shipments for cost recovery purposes.

As this goes into effect, ship operators must monitor and report their emissions and surrender allowances for each ton of CO2 they emit. This rule applies to all voyages within the European Economic Area and 50% of voyages starting or ending in European ports.

Starting from the first quarter of next year, cargo owners will be charged a surcharge every three months. The shipping industry will need to cover 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024, which will increase to 70% in 2025 and reach 100% by 2026.

AIR CARGO

Airlines are becoming hopeful for a peak season after air cargo spot rates reach lowest levels since three years at $2.19 per kilogram. With the current market conditions it is possible that shippers will be tempted to negotiate their rates to secure long-term deals.

Only two out of the ten major trade lanes experienced growth in the past month: China-U.S. and Southeast Asia-U.S. The spot rates for these routes increased by 3% and 4% respectively. This growth can be credited to the stronger U.S. economy and the delayed recovery of U.S.-China bellyspace capacity.

As of now many shippers are being challenged to reconsider their post-pandemic air freight strategies to keep up with the rapidly evolving market.

WEEKLY RECAP

We had the opportunity to sit down with Eric Buther, Vince President of Area Storage & Transfer, at the NSRMCA Conference in Washington, DC. And luckily for YOU he shared all the information you need to know about establishing and maintaining a contract with USPS, as well as upcoming changes to expect. If you missed it, watch the YouTube video above. ☝️