The steady increase in capacity and declining freight rates is giving brands and retailers a bright spot in an otherwise challenging market.
LOGISTICS
Even blank sailings are failing to support freight rates. Despite reducing capacity, rates to the US West Coast have fallen 46.3% year-on-year over the past 12 weeks, per Xeneta data.
Ocean spot rates out of Asia continued to fall this week even as carriers canceled significant amounts of scheduled sailings to the US and Europe to meet falling demand, said Freightos.
On Asia-Europe routes demand remains sluggish with no pre-Golden Week cargo rush. Space is available, despite schedule reliability continuing to be impacted by port congestion, said Flexport.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) showed Chinese export spot rates declined 10% this week, marking the fifth consecutive week of 8-10% weekly declines. However it is still 182% above 2019 levels.
Growth in Indian Subcontinent exports to North America is strong over the first 6 months of 2022, as importers continue to diversify sourcing, per JOC reports.
Cathay Pacific Airlines reported operating at 59% of its pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity in August aided by a relaxing of quarantine restrictions, per UPS.
MARKET
The US dollar continues to rise against all major currencies, including the Euro, the pound, the Canadian dollar and the Chinese yuan, as the Fed tackles inflation with more rate hikes.
- Even after an intervention last week, the Yen is still at a nearly 24-year low against the dollar.
- People’s Bank of China has stopped short of deploying significant foreign exchange reserves as the yuan falls to the lowest level since 2008.
Violence continues to spiral in Myanmar, with the junta staying strong despite international opposition, Foreign Policy reported.
MATERIALS SOURCING
Finding A Supply Chain that’s Vertical and Sustainable
Having your entire supply chain in one country not only saves time, but also reduces logistics costs and cuts back on the carbon footprint.
Finding this is not always easy.
One manufacturer has a solution. “In addition to our spinning mill we also do weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and garment manufacturing. About 80 percent of our yarn goes into our fabrics,” said Kumjorn Chuenchoochit at Thai Textile Industry.
The company ensures quality by doing 100 percent compact yarn. READ MORE
PODCAST
A System for Turning Ideas into Action Plans
Everyone loves to gather round the conference table and brainstorm new ideas. We all enjoy exploring the possibilities of what we could do … what it might look like … and of course the big success that we think could result from our innovative ideas.
But how often does ideating actually lead to the execution of a project?
In this episode, Natalie Turner, Founder and CEO of The Entheo Network, talks about how to overcome that
You’ll Learn:
- How to create a more innovative, results oriented culture.
- The 6 I’s of Innovation and how leaders can use them in their companies.
- The mindsets and skills we need to harness diversity.
- The different dimensions of innovation – and how to use them to build better results.
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY
3 Tactics for Dealing with Supply Chain Overwhelm
Even in the midst of the current disruptions there are steps that executives can take to not only cope with the challenges at hand but to plan for the future. READ MORE
MATERIALS
Materials prices reflect concerns that weaker demand will continue to outweigh potential supply shortages of oil, cotton or other commodities.
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