
Global freight demand remains in recovery, defying concerns about El Niño and economic headwinds. Notably, China and North America exhibit strong freight demand, as evidenced by record-breaking volumes passing through North China border ports and solid air freight rates. Meanwhile, the US economy reinforced its resilience with impressive jobs numbers, albeit at a slower pace, even in the face of higher interest rates. Propped by high demand for electric vehicles, China remains an export powerhouse even as it attempts to court friend-shoring interests. Innovations in logistics, such as tracking devices and technology integrations extend what has been a remarkable year for innovation in logistics.
However, challenges persist on the global economic horizon. While EU ports are on a trajectory of recovery from pandemic disruptions, they have yet to fully regain pre-pandemic levels, indicating ongoing supply chain challenges. The Eurozone economy’s stagnation raises concerns about a potential recession with potential global repercussions. While a recession is currently averted, the projection of a sharp decline in world growth in the coming year introduces uncertainties attributed to various economic factors. The US actively pressuring countries to reduce their dependence on China for critical goods is reshaping the global trade landscape. Additionally, the looming threat of a strong El Niño event poses risks to holiday-related supply chains, potentially leading to disruptions and price increases.
Weekly Highlights
World Growth to Fall Sharply in 2024 but US Recession Avoided
Xi Jinping Makes Friend-Shoring Pitch to Europe
Air-Freight Rates Get Extended Lift From Solid Consumer Demand
El Nino May Impact Holiday-Related Supply Chains
Economic News
“The slowdown in Germany is clearly an aspect that worries us: We are talking about our main commercial partner,” Franco Gussalli Beretta, Regional President of Confindustrias
US economy adds 199,000 jobs as unemployment rate falls slightly
The US workforce added 199,000 jobs last month, a robust reading as the world’s largest economy continues to grapple with higher interest rates. Employment growth has been fading this year after the Federal Reserve launched an aggressive campaign to pull back inflation from its highest levels in a generation… Read more
Eurozone economy stalls in third quarter
Europe’s economy stalled in the third quarter, official data showed on Thursday, leaving it a risk of recession. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, GDP decreased by 0.1% in the Eurozone compared to the second quarter, when it inched up 0.1%… Read more
World Growth to Fall Sharply in 2024 but US Recession Avoided
Fitch has revised up its 2023 world growth forecast to 2.9% from 2.5% in the September GEO, with the US raised by 0.4pp to 2.4% and China by 0.5pp to 5.3%. Growth will slow sharply next year as household income and profits decelerate, credit and investment weaken and real interest rates rise, but is now expected to remain positive through 2024… Read more
Xi Jinping Makes Friend-Shoring Pitch to Europe
Faced with mounting pressure by the US to reduce China’s role in key global supply chains, Chinese President Xi Jinping this week maneuvered to shore up trade links with the European Union… Read more
As Germany sneezes, Europe is catching a cold
Germany’s budget mess is threatening to make an already difficult situation worse for the rest of the Continent. What has typically been Europe’s economic engine room had already barely grown for 18 months by the time the Federal Constitutional Court ruled this month that a government accounting tactic to depress its budget deficit was illegal… Read more
Soaring electric vehicle sales fueling China market
The nationwide wholesale deliveries of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids were expected to hit 940,000 units in November, up 29 percent year-on-year, while total sales in the first 11 months of this year are estimated to have reached 7.74 million units, up 35 percent year-on-year, said the China Passenger Car Association… Read more
“What we wanted was a strong but moderating labor market, and that’s what we saw in the November report,” Robert Frick, Economist, Navy Federal Credit Union.
Industry News
“The Netherlands remained the largest maritime freight transport EU country in 2022. Dutch ports (Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeeland) handled 565 million tonnes of goods (+9 million tonnes compared with 2021), which was 16% of the total volume of seaborne goods handled last year in the EU.”
North China border ports see record-high freight throughput
The freight volume passing through land checkpoints in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which borders Mongolia and Russia, has surpassed 100 million tonnes this year, with the annual throughput breaking the benchmark for the first time, according to the region’s commerce department… Read more
Air-Freight Rates Get Extended Lift From Solid Consumer Demand
Air-freight rates that’ve remained above pre-pandemic levels may continue to find support at current levels until Chinese New Year, DHL Express Americas CEO Mike Parra said, which bodes well for earnings at DHL Express and its competitors… Read more
Road freight figures up, other forms of transport down
According to data published by the Central Statistical Bureau December 5, during the first nine months of 2023, compared to the nine months of 2022, freight transport by road increased, but by other modes of transport decreased… Read more
EU ports rebounding from pandemic disruptions
In 2022, the total gross weight of seaborne freight handled in all EU ports was estimated at 3.48 billion tonnes, which was an increase of 0.8% compared with 2021 (3.45 billion tonnes). Pandemic disruptions led to a 7.3% fall in 2020 (compared with 2019), but 2021 (+3.9%) was already a more positive year, with data showing a partial recovery from 2019… Read more
El Nino May Impact Holiday-Related Supply Chains
With the looming presence of a strong and potentially historically intense El Niño the possibility of weather affecting the availability of goods and the cost of holiday purchases increases as shipping, aviation, and over-the-road transportation navigate the weather to make the holidays bright… Read more
“The rail industry is asking for solutions that will enhance cost efficiency, operational efficiency, and reliability. Digitalization and data management technologies offer enormous opportunities in this respect.” Dr. Nicolas Lange, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG
Ranon Quote of the Week
“This is a major breakthrough when it comes to supply chain visibility and automation. Achieving mass production and pervasive deployment of these thin film wireless smart labels will change how businesses track items, reduce theft and loss, and demonstrate accountability to their customers” Brian Krejcarek, CEO and co-founder of Reelables
Technology, Policy and Sustainability Updates
Torc to use data from Uber Freight to develop autonomous trucking network
Daimler Truck North America (DTNA)’s autonomous trucking subsidiary, Torc Robotics, will use data from digital freight matching (DFM) platform Uber Freight to accelerate its technology development, the companies said today… Read more
UK company develops shipping labels with built-in tracking device
A U.K.-based company said it has created the first shipping label embedded with a tracking device that’s connected to a 5G cellular network, enabling users to print tracking labels at scale from a standard thermal barcode printer… Read more
MVMNT Integrates With Truckstop to Streamline Load Postings for Freight Brokers
MVMNT, a leading Transportation Management System (TMS) for freight brokers, today announces its integration with Truckstop, one of the industry’s largest freight marketplaces and load boards… Read more
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