Backlogs at Felixstowe following strikes, UK Royal Mail postal worker strike continues on 31 August and 8-9 September and FedEx peak season surcharges come into effect early this September.

Macro Update:

Strikes at Britain’s biggest container port, Felixstowe concluded on Sunday, ending a 7 day industrial action period. Backlogs are expected as the port resumes services.

Over 115,000 UK Royal Mail postal workers are participating in strike action on August 26 and 31, and September 8 and 9, 2022. The industrial action will run from 00:01 for 24 hours on these days. Widespread disruption is expected throughout the UK during this time.

Royal Mail will suspend services today, 29th August, in observance of the Summer Bank Holiday.

Barge surcharges in Europe have soared 150%, due to hinterland congestion and container transport’s need to compete with demand for coal following Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies.

The impact of this is being felt across deepsea terminals too, as switching barges led to inefficiencies, with cranes and workers idle amid an already “deeply stressed” market and berth capacity. Alternatives to barges remain limited, with rail capacity having been block-booked in advance due to the low water levels, while construction and cancellations compound the congestion.

Instead of the usual peak season surcharge on shipments starting in early October, this year FedEx customers will start paying as early as the US Labour Day holiday on 5 September. Pricing surcharges will differ for individual services, you can read more about them on the FedEx website here.

Service Updates:

Australia & New Zealand

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Direct injection International services at this time: No delays

Aramex: 

Services are affected in Geelong, Perth, Capricorn Coast, Melbourne, Wollongong and Newcastle. Read more about Aramex disruptions here.

New Zealand Post: 

Road closures and flooding are still impacting deliveries in some parts of the South Island. Delivery delays of up to 2 working days of all items in the Nelson and Marlborough regions.

Asia

China

COVID-19 disruption continues to be felt locally.

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Direct injection International services at this time: No delays

US

While weather and flooding conditions have improved, continued road closures in Yellowstone National Park have prompted suspension of FedEx Freight operations that service portions of the area.

Service to the following ZIP Codes remains suspended: 

• 59020 
• 82190

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.

UK

Royal Mail postal workers have called four 24-hour strikes commencing at 

• 00.01 UK time on 26 and 31 August and 
• 8 and 9 September 2022

This industrial action will affect mail deliveries, as well as Royal Mail's domestic and international logistics network. Detailed, up-to-date information on services can be found at royalmail.com/latest-news.

There will be no collections or deliveries of mail on Bank Holiday Monday 29 August except for the following postcode areas: DG13, EH43-EH46, G, KA1-5, KA9-KA15, KA16-18, KA20-30, ML1-ML12, PA1-PA20, PA22-28, PA30-32, PA34, PA37-38, PA42, PA45, PA60, PH1, PH2, PH14, TD1, TD7-9.

Fulfillment services: Operational and as per SLAs.

Inbound Receiving services: Operational and as per SLAs.

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

Due to temporary adjustments to the FedEx transatlantic air network, transit times for FedEx International Priority Freight (IPF) shipments from Europe to the US, CA and LAC will be extended by 1 day, effective 29th August until 2nd October 2022. Read more here.

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.