The Panama Canal’s ongoing drought problems have prompted Mexico to revive its transcoastal railway.
The $2.8 billion project to renovate the nation’s 100 year-old line would create a route that spans Mexico’s two coasts at the country’s narrowest point, providing a passage for transporting international freight.
The Financial Times estimated that the new route would be able to carry about 10.5% of the capacity that currently crosses through the Panama Canal.
LOGISTICS
The 2M alliance reduced their winter schedule for Asia – N. Europe through December. The scaled down service reflects both the lull in demand and excess capacity on this lane, per Freightos.
Although overcapacity is leading to lower rates, it is also leading to poorer reliability for shippers as last minute blanked sailings can cause delays in the form of rolled containers and late arrivals, per Freightos.
2023 will see the largest ever TEU influx, with about 2.5M TEU to come into the global market by end of year and 3M TEU in 2024, per UPS.
Capacity between Asia and North America increased by 25.2% year-over-year in the first nine months of 2023. This trend is forecasted to continue into 2024, per Sea-Intelligence.
Market trends are pointing towards the second half of 2023 returning to Jan/Feb blank sailing levels in order to rein in excess capacity, per UPS.
The EU’s Consortia Block Exemption Regulation allows, under certain conditions, liner shipping operators to cooperate for the provision of joint services. The regulation is due to expire on 25 April 2024. The expiry of the CBER means that consortia are now subject to the EU antitrust rules that apply to all economic sectors, per the European Commission.
Month-on-Month ocean and air rate changes … new services … seasonal outlook. Read More
INSIDE SOURCING
Sourcing nations are facing the double threat of rising costs and falling order volumes. A stronger dollar making imported raw materials more costly. Workers want pay hikes. And energy prices are continuing to rise.
Yet brands are playing it safe and keeping order size to a minimum. Despite recent encouraging economic data, there’s an overall lack of confidence about what demand might look like. Read more
PODCAST
The Danger of Over Automating Supply Chains
The current conversation around creating faster and more reliable supply chains is lean into automation.
But should the ultimate goal be to completely automate supply chains? Or could we actually heighten supply risks by relying too heavily on automation.
In this podcast, Dr. Yossi Sheffi, an award-winning global supply chain expert and Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, talks about the pros and cons of automation.
You’ll Learn:
- The greatest vulnerability in over reliance on automation.
- Where people can surpass computers in supply chain operations.
- Where global supply chains proved how resilient they actually are.
MATERIALS SOURCING
Authentic American Denim Becomes a Sustainability Incubator
Typically it seems that we have to choose between authentic, heritage fabrics and sustainable textiles. That’s no longer the case.
Cone Denim has kept all of the qualities that have made it a customer favorite for over a century – and then added innovations to so that it meets today’s demand for greater sustainability.
Cone’s newest range includes fabulous new shades such as Blue Smoke and Black Cherry. Read more
Intimate Apparel Trends | AW 2024-25
The top Intimate Apparel directions for Autumn/Winter 2024-25
MATERIALS
Cotton futures traded around 85 cents per pound, their lowest in three weeks, as the cotton industry globally is grappling with reduced production and consumption.
Oil prices rose over 5% this week, but are below the $93 peak on Sept 27 – and below the dreaded $100/bbl mark.
Concerns over global demand are continuing to put downward pressure on fiber and yarn prices.
You can find the current Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year prices here.
Best Selling Fabric Directions for AW 2024-25
New fabric developments are giving brands an opportunity to elevate their collections – and create apparel that consumers want to buy!
CURRENCIES
A strong US retail sales report has helped to strengthen the dollar.
The Chinese yuan strengthened as the nation’s Q3 GDP exceeded expectations.
The Euro started to stabilize against the dollar on an upturn in October German investor sentiment.
MARKETS
The US September retail sales report was significantly better than expected, posting a month-on-month gain of 0.7% versus 0.3% expected while retail sales growth for August has also been revised higher to 0.8% from 0.6%.
- This has raised thoughts of 4% GDP growth for Q3 quashing fears of recession, per ING Bank.
- A Wall Street Journal quarterly survey of business and academic economists, published Sunday, pegged the chance of a US recession in the next year at just 48%. Previously over 50% had forecast the probability of a recession.
China’s GDP grew 4.9% year-on-year in Q3, beating market expectations, per the Financial Times.
- The economy expanded 1.3% on a quarterly basis, per China’s National Bureau of Statistics, a strong improvement over growth of just 0.5% in the April-June period.
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