Published July 19, 2022 — America is facing the twin threats of rail and trucker strikes just as signs emerge that its ports on both coasts are getting overloaded once again. The ongoing negotiations between dockworker unions and employees on the US west coast is also fraying nerves for many involved in supply chains.
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Published June 27, 2022 — Having navigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw significant drops in container volumes in 2020, carriers have shown a willingness to adjust capacity to demand, skipping sailings to keep utilisation and rates elevated. Port congestion and equipment shortages have also contributed to keeping rates up, with current spot rates from Asia to the US West Coast at $7,930, and trans-Atlantic rates from North Europe at $6,593, both figures up significantly from the previous year.
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Published June 3, 2022 — Shanghai fully reopened on June 1 after a city-wide COVID lockdown that started in March. Shanghai’s port, which is the largest in the world, has been operating throughout the lockdown at severely reduced capacity, causing many shipments to be cancelled, postponed, or rerouted.
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Published April 20, 2022 — The city of Shanghai and its 25 million people are under an indefinite lockdown as China deals with its largest Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic started. The good news is that China has kept the ports open. The bad news is that the critical shortage of truck drivers is impacting shipping volume, with one source estimated a 26% decrease in early April.
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Published April 6, 2022 — From the 27th through the 29th of March, Tandem Global Logistics Network (TGLN) could finally hold its 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Rome, Italy, after two years of rescheduling as a result of the global pandemic. The meeting, which marked TGLN’s 15th anniversary, was hosted by Iscotrans S.p.A. and 60 delegates exclusively representing 32 countries were very happy to see each other again to strengthen their business relationships and to engage in business development meetings.
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Published March 24, 2022 — Tandem Global Logistics Germany (The Rieck Logistics Group) is investing around EUR 26 million in a new freight forwarding facility in north-west Berlin. The construction of the new terminal is already in full swing and the first concrete columns are currently being erected.
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Published February 25, 2022 — The Dutch port of Rotterdam has also passed the worst of the crisis. Container throughput rose to 15.3 million teu, while total throughput was 7.3% higher than in 2020, amounting to 468.7 million t. This corresponds to the pre-crisis level of 2019.
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Published February 16, 2022 — Tandem Canada (dba Canaan Group) celebrated 40 years in business last year. With all the volatility in the transportation industry in 2021, I haven’t had any time to reflect on this milestone until now. As I think back over the past 40 years, the most important figure was my late father who started this business. It also happens to be 20 years since he passed away. To commemorate 40 years of the business my father established, it seems most fitting to share his life story with you.
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Published December 24, 2021 — Last month’s torrential rain and flooding in British Columbia caused large disruptions to the movement of containers as well as shortages of food and emergency supplies.
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