Further lockdowns in China on the horizon, possible UK rail strike in June , Brexit border check delays, and floods continuing to impact Australia.

Macro Update:

Flooding and extreme weather conditions across New South Wales and Queensland continue to affect our ability to transport mail and parcels in both states. Read more in our Australia section below.

The Chinese export and logistics market is moving even deeper into limbo, as the country headed for a three-day ‘labor’ holiday, beginning on Sunday. Some parts of Shanghai have opened up, but these appear to be on/off openings, with rules changing at very short notice. Rising COVID cases in Beijing are sparking fears the Chinese capital and other cities could join Shanghai, Suzhou and other major cities in lockdowns.

European governments are negotiating bilateral agreements aimed at formalizing pay and working conditions on board ferries between Europe and the UK, which will likely push up the cost of freight on a number of key routes. With the chaotic events at P&O Ferries, UK trade unions have been in discussions with the Department for Transport which it is expected will see collective bargaining agreements (CBA) in place on key routes out of the UK.

Some 40,000 UK workers at Network Rail could stage “the biggest rail strike in modern history” – a response to pay freezes and a threat to the jobs of some 2,500 workers, largely maintenance. A strike will affect all rail operations, both passenger and freight and could spell increased congestion on UK roads.

The UK government has refused to rule out further delaying phytosanitary border checks and prolonging implementation of full Brexit customs controls, which were supposed to come into effect in July. When they finally are implemented it is likely those exporting from Europe to the UK will benefit, with their costs reduced, while UK exporters will continue to face additional costs.

 

Service Updates:

Australia & New Zealand

Flooding and extreme weather conditions across NSW and Queensland are causing delivery delays for items coming in and out of these regions. Local deliveries in flood-affected areas continue to be impacted. 

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Direct injection International services at this time: No delays

Australia Post: Local deliveries in flood-affected areas continue to be impacted. Read about Australia Post disruptions here.

Aramex: Services are affected across the country. Read more about Aramex disruptions here.

New Zealand Post: We are experiencing delivery delays of up to 2 days in Wellington, Waikato, Hawkes Bay and Palmerston North, the West Coast, Invercargill, and Dunedin, and up to a day for parcels being sent across the rest of the country.

Asia

China Post has updated that the processing of mail is temporarily affected at Shanghai, Changchun and Yanji mail processing centers due to COVID until further notice. This directly delays the processing, transiting and delivery of items. As a result, the Post is unable to guarantee compliance with the agreed delivery standards.

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: Operational and as per SLAs.

Canada

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

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

Royal Mail: 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

FedEx: Due to internal and external events, FedEx is currently experiencing service disruptions, which could result in temporary delays to services in Europe. You can read more about which services are affected here.

Italy: We continue to see minor delays for items destined for Italy. To allow your items to be processed as quickly as possible, please provide full and accurate data before posting your items. We are continuing to work with Poste Italiane and will provide an update once the situation has improved.

Portugal: We are currently experiencing delays to items being delivered in Portugal. Items are delayed when being processed through Portuguese customs.

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Freight Forwarding Update:

Sea freight - Asia to north America

We’ve seen a slight drop in pricing for LCL and FCL, 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

COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to impact services and limit capacities globally.

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.