Following a slowdown at about 50% in June for the China region of the Yantian Port, there will be a much higher volume of ships headed to the Port of LA for July and August, reports American Shipper this week. The current surge of arriving vessels will also be coinciding with higher volumes due to seasonal highs related to back-to-school and upcoming holiday items for the fall and beyond. Estimates are predicting a record-breaking year surpassing 10 million TEUs of cargo for 2021. (See link for American Shipper: “Los Angeles port braces for Yantian catch-up, ....”, July 14, 2021, Greg Miller)

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Well, maybe not that soon. But there are a number of companies collaborating to develop eVTOL (electric, vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft in the newly emerging urban air mobility (UAM) market. Hyundai unveiled its S-A1 flying taxi, while Eve Urban Mobility has joined up with Helisul to produce 50 eVTOLS for operation in Brazil by 2026. Morgan Stanley predicts a $9 trillion UAM market by 2050. (See link for Modern Shipper, “Flying cars set for slow takeoff, rapid ascent”, June, 10, 2021, Brian Straight) (Also see Engadget)

An application for Winding Up was served by Pacific National (a leading Australian intermodal rail company) to WridgWays. A court hearing has been ordered for July 19th. Wridgways is one of Australia’s oldest moving companies established in 1892. (See link for FEDEMAC, The Weekly News, “WridgWays Hit by Winding Up Application”, July 1, 2021)

The Port of Yantian is back up to full operations as of Thursday last week, as reported by American Shipper on Monday. Backup of accumulated containers are expected be taken care of in about two weeks. However, the global shipping impact remains with comments in the industry suggesting more than twice the shipping times since the port slowdown back in May. (See link for American Shipper: “Yantian port back at full speed ….”, June 28, 2021, Eric Kulisch)

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M. Diane McCormick explains in her article in the recent June edition of ERC’s Mobility Magazine that “U.S. military and government families represent a major market segment, affecting everything from technology and service at the curb to making good when things go wrong.” (“The Ripple Effect of Government Relocations”) The Defense Personal Property Program (DP3) manages over 300,000 HHG shipments annually at a cost over $2 billion, along with 70,000 moved/stored vehicles and 60,000 lots of long-term storage for an additional $300,000 million. (See link for full Mobility article, June 2021 edition, p. 39)

The reactions to Covid-19 have caused absolute chaos in global shipping.   The word “chaos” is not said lightly, in fact, it is actually part of the title of a New York Times article, “‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Chaos Strikes Global Shipping.” (By Peter S. Goodman, Alexandra Stevenson, Niraj Chokshiand, Michael Corkery,March 6, 2021, Updated March 7, 2021.)

The disruptions to global trade are driving up the cost of shipping dramatically.  The cost to ship a container from Asia to the US has skyrocketed since June of last year.