The euro could hit dollar parity later this year for the first time since 2002, according to Amundi, Europe’s largest fund manager. It pointed to the European Central Bank’s regulatory quagmire for being slow to tackle rising inflation in the region.
LOGISTICS
There will be a much longer wait for the long awaited reopening of Shanghai. Expectations are now set for the end of May with reopening being rolled out gradually, per multiple sources.
- Some factories in cities nearby Shanghai are beginning to resume their production in phases, however trucking capacity continues to be constrained, per Flexport.
- In addition, cross-province trucking in some parts of China has come to a halt, said UPS.
Ocean carrier alliances are preparing to blank more than a third of their sailings from Asia in the coming weeks, due to the reduction in export freight. As a result, cargo lead times from Asia to North Europe will continue to grow, said Flexport.
- As of May 3, carriers announced 35 blank sailings in the Transpacific Eastbound, reducing 17.1% from average capacity, per UPS.
Concerns about a lockdown being announced in Beijing are stressing supply chains, according to UPS.
- In Northern China, both cargo and demand backlogs are piling up, as traditional peak season looms and Beijing implements stricter Covid measures.
- For cargo ready now, N. American importers might consider taking advantage of currently available space and softer floating market rates, advises Flexport.
Air cargo rates out of Shanghai to N. Europe have fallen 46% to $6.33/kg since the lockdown began in early April, according to the Freightos Index.
The Southeast intra-Asian market is steadily growing, allowing carriers to add direct routes that offer competitive transit times, said UPS.
MANUFACTURING
Practical Reasons Why Manufacturers Resist IIoT
Manufacturers are often accused of being laggards when it comes to investing in technology. But in the case of complex applications such as IIoT, there might be good reasons why most are hesitant to make the investment. Read More
PODCAST
A New Organizational Model for Speed and Agility
It’s not just remote working or employee resignations or digitization – companies are also realising that their entire corporate structure might no longer serve them as well as it used to.
With this in mind, what might the new organisational best practices look like?
Jay Goldman is CEO of Sensei Labs and New York Times bestselling author of The Decoded Company. He is a recognised expert on the future of work and on ‘enterprise orchestration’ and has spoken at TEDx, Harvard, Google, Twitter and NASA.
In this episode, Jay talks about:
- Why most digital transformations fail.
- How ‘enterprise orchestration’ can help companies align people, processes and technology.
- Why you need to know your own employees better than you know your customers.
SUSTAINABILITY
Crystal Group International (Hong Kong) is ramping up long-term decarbonisation actions, following the Net Zero 2050 Vision announced in March 2022. As a first milestone, the Group’s Hong Kong headquarters has been certified as carbon neutral by ClimatePartner. Read More
MATERIALS
Strong demand for good quality Merino fleece has driven Australia’s wool auction market higher this week, according to the Australian Wool Exchange.
- Exporters said the market is still tracking US30-40c/kg below what it was before Easter, as a result of ongoing logistics and finance issues.
Other materials prices remained stable as lockdowns in China have reduced demand.
MARKETS
US imports are expected to have risen 5.7% year-on-year in April, but to fall 1.4% percent in May.
- June is forecast at 2.29 million TEU, up 6.6 percent from last year, with monthly increases between 0.3% – 5.3% year-on-year through September, according to the National Retail Federation.
- The figures do not break imports out by category.
The NRF suggests that the surge in spending is driven by consumers stocking up to get ahead of price inflation. It suggests that retailers might be moving orders forward anticipating higher costs ahead.
