Extreme congestion, driver shortages and limited air freight capacity continue to cause a global crunch in the run up to peak season

Macro Update:

Extreme congestion and limited air freight capacity continue to cause delays in the run up to peak season as demand consistently exceeds supply. Unreliable and changing flight schedules have also exacerbated congestion levels across the world.

We have made a note of Express courier services from Hong Kong experiencing slower delivery times.

European road freight rates have hit an all-time high, amid a Europe-wide driver shortage and rising fuel prices. The latest quarterly European Road Freight Rate Benchmark – calculated by Transport Intelligence (Ti), Upply and the IRU – reached 107.6 for the third quarter. This is its fifth consecutive quarter of growth and the highest level since it was established, in 2017.

Driver shortages are also being felt in the US. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), there is a driver shortage of over 80,000. The pandemic has been a catalyst for many drivers to retire, which, coupled with backlogs in training and obtaining licences, has stalled the entry of new drivers.

However it is not all bad news. Federal and state transportation agencies in California are partnering to speed up and find "potentially billions in financing" for projects for California's ports and other infrastructure needs to help relieve congestion, according to a joint release last week. The Emerging Projects Agreement will target projects including port-specific upgrades, capacity expansions for freight rail, developing inland port facilities for increased warehouse storage and highway upgrades to improve truck travel times to name a few.

Service Updates:

Australia

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Shipping services: We are currently seeing domestic delays across all regions. Australia Post is experiencing significant delays, and delivery times are as a result, longer than expected. On average we are seeing 3-4 day delays over the estimated transit times for our Standard and Express services. You can read more about domestic delivery times across Australia’s regions here.

Direct injection International services at this time: No delays

International to postal providers: Australia Post is experiencing significant delays when sending post to China, and Canada. This is due to limited air freight capacity. 

US

Fulfillment services: Remain unaffected by delays and same day dispatch is being met as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Shipping services: We are seeing slight delays with Ground services in the USA. Average wait times of 5-7 days are now taking 6-8 days. 

UK

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Yodel and Royal Mail services:  No disruptions or delays

International from the UK: We are seeing slight delays for DDU, not DDP deliveries, where there is an IOSS number. Average delivery times of 5-8 day are now taking 8-11 days. We encourage all customers to have their IOSS number as this helps with improving the clearance process to deliver into the EU.

EU

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Canada

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

PSS

As we are currently within the Peak Season, surcharges are in effect. However to ease financial burdens on our customers, we pass on all surcharges at cost.

You can read more about current surcharges in place on our Helpsite here.

Freight Forwarding Update:

Sea freight - Asia to north America

We’ve seen a slight drop in pricing for LCL and FCL. Hopefully this will continue to improve in Q4, however rates are still elevated. 

Space: We continue to experience space issues with most carriers

Booking: We recommend booking well and truly in advance (5-6 weeks), we cannot guarantee that the space will always be available.

Sea Freight - Asia- Europe

Rates are still at record highs, although they have gone down slightly. 

Space: Continues to be a concern

Booking: We recommend booking well and truly in advance (5-6 weeks).

Sea Freight - Asia - Australia

Pricing is still relatively elevated.

Space: Continues to be a concern

Booking: We recommend booking in advance (4-5 weeks).

Air freight

There is limited space availability and freight may be moved off and put on other later flights, in the run up to peak season. We are seeing issues with carrier reliability and capacity at the moment, meaning we cannot always guarantee services at this time.

Direct injection

B360 has its own Direct Injection network that runs from Sydney to the US, Hong Kong to Europe, Hong Kong to Australia and Hong Kong to the US. These channels are still very reliable, with transit times on average being 4-8 days, we see no changes as per the SLAs at this time.

To learn more about any of our updates or to make carrier changes, please reach out to us today.