The Loadstar

In this sponsored podcast, Mike King, host and producer of The Loadstar Podcast, finds out that one of the world’s largest and most renowned shipping companies is taking its transformation into a fully fledged logistics integrator very seriously, not least via its substantial investment in air cargo.

Annette Kreuziger, the recently-appointed regional head of airfreight for Europe at AP Moller-Maersk, tells Mike the company has big plans for air cargo. She also explains how its expanding operations will help it best meet the varied needs of its shipper customer base.

Episode in more detail:

Transferring global strategies into a regional roadmap (1.33)

Air cargo and Maersk’s transformation (3.14)

Key customers (6.32)

A hub with purpose (7.59)

A world of black swans (10.21)

Technology = the glue (13.05)

Air freight opportunities (14.36)

E-commerce growth curve (16.05)

Benefits of asset ownership (18.29)

2023 peak season (19.59)

Plans for 2024 (21.28)

Aimed for net-zero (22.28)

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In this Loadstar podcast, host Mike King and guests examine the implications of the big shake-up of port ownership underway in Germany.

Why are owners so interested in selling stakes in key ports, and why are container lines queueing up to buy them?

How will this impact forwarders and shippers?

What do the latest deals say about Germany's and Europe's approach to foreign ownership of maritime and shipping infrastructure, especially ownership by companies linked to the Chinese state?

And what do changes to port ownership and EC regulations mean for liner networks and the alliance system in 2024?

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

Guests

Jan Tiedemann, Head Analyst, Alphaliner

Gavin van Marle, Managing Editor, The Loadstar

Sebastian Reimann, Editor in Chief, DVZ (Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung)

This episode is all about air cargo as host Mike King and his guests dissect the peak season, freight rate trends and what happens in 2024.

They also explore how snowstorms in Alaska have been impacting trans-Pacific traffic, what global-to-global trade is exactly, and whether forwarders have finally cracked the code to the e-commerce business.

How capacity is sold is in the crosshairs, as The Loadstar unpacks how Ceva Logistics and its owner CMA CGM Group manage their relationship, and why Flexport and WestJet are now working together.

And last but not least, Mike and Loadstar Publisher Alex Lennane examine how PR companies and the media interact, and why TIACA Chairman Steve Polmans came under severe pressure at his organisation’s latest executive summit for controversially getting stuck in the middle of the two.

Guests

Steffen Treiber, SVP Airfreight, DHL Global Forwarding

Alex Lennane, Publisher, The Loadstar

Yossi Shoukroun, CEO, The Challenge Group

Charlotte Goldstone, News Reporter, The Loadstar

Neil Wilson, Editor, TAC Index

Episode in more detail:

TIACA media controversy (3.52)

Polmans, Pollock and Burt Reynolds (6.46)

Air cargo peak season (10.43)

TAC Index rates update (11.56)

It’s snowing in Alaska (16.54)

DHL: demand outlook (21.23)

Defining global-to-global (24.29)

Shorter routes, smaller freighters? (28.37)

Forwarders vs e-commerce (29.43)

WestJet shares Flexport load (31.01)

CMA whistle-blower (32.11)

What next for Polar Air Cargo? 34.00)

Shipping and carbon credits (33.23)

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In a more divided and fractured world, the logistics landscape is rapidly changing, and the future of trade and globalisation is getting ever cloudier. In this episode, host and editor Mike King speaks to global thought leaders about where geopolitics - and conflicts about ideas, ideology and forms of government - are directing the very concept of globalisation.

If China is a less trusted location to do business, where does that business go? And if manufacturing moves closer to home, what does that mean for the long-term investment decisions being made by forwarders and carriers as they seek to serve their shipper customers?

And finally, if supply chains are regionalising and global institutions that foster collaboration are losing their power, what does this mean for the ability of those in the business of trade to decarbonise supply chains?

Guests

Michael Every, Global Strategist, Rabobank

Marc Levinson, author, historian and journalist

Luisa Rodriguez, Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Lars Jensen, CEO, Vespucci Maritime

Alex Lennane, Publisher, The Loadstar

Neil Johnson, Co-Founder, TNETS

Description

In this episode host Mike King and his guests dissect the end of container line consortia exemptions in the EU and the impact of the awful events taking place in the Middle East.

They also cover the latest redundancies at Flexport, implications for digital forwarding, the latest rates news, the container ship orderbook, why some container lines will post losses in Q4, and what impact the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) will have on carriers and shippers.

Guests

Lars Jensen, CEO, Vespucci Maritime

Gavin van Marle, Managing Editor, The Loadstar

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta

Neil Wilson, Editor, TAC Index

Episode in more detail:

EU to end liner shipping consortia exemption (2.20)

The end of alliances? (3.16)

Shipper reaction (5.04)

War in the Middle East (6.07)

TAC Index air freight rates update (10.16)

Flexport redundancies (11.27)

The demise of digital forwarders? (14.52)

Xeneta on ocean rates (16.16)

Blanks to hit Euro port volumes? (18.26)

How the EC’s Emissions Trading System will impact shipping (20.07)

Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime (25.15)

Lars on the EC’s liner exemption ruling (25.50)

Will other regulators follow suit? (33.09)

How will ETS impact shippers? (35.12)

ETS vs port competition (40.04)

The current container market (44.00)

Liner profitability outlook (45.37)

Is vertical consolidation saving carriers? (50.52)

Lars, geopolitics and China +1 (54.29)

Why carriers may not have over-ordered (57.39)

ETS and ferry competition (1.00.41)

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In this sponsored episode, Mike King, host and producer of The Loadstar Podcast, discovers that quantum physics is not merely relevant in 2023 because of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’, one of the hit movies of the summer. Rather, it is the bedrock of the technologies now transforming the world of logistics.

Mike is joined by Sean Tinney, Global Solutions Lead for Enterprise Computing Solutions at Unisys, a global technology solutions company that powers breakthroughs for the world's leading organizations.

Mike and Sean discuss how quantum computing and AI are converging to create entirely new paradigms for the world of freight. The future of supply chains is here, and it’s called quantum logistics.

Episode in detail:

The origins of quantum logistics (2.44)

Quantum physics and Oppenheimer (3.55)

Quantum computer and the supply chain (5.06)

Practical logistics applications (7.27)

Defining and deploying quantum logistics (9.56)

How Unisys is harnessing technology (11.48)

Quantum IQ (12.42)

Advanced analytics and SC complexity (13.25)

Optimising logistics management (15.43)

Quantum logistics case examples (16.56)

Cutting costs; boosting profits (19.29)

Most suitable markets for new tech (21.15)

This podcast is sponsored by Unisys.

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In part 1, creator and host Mike King is joined by the Loadstar’s Alex Lennane and Xeneta’s Peter Sand. They examine the latest rate movements, decipher the peak season, discuss why forwarders are retaining their own air cargo capacity, and try and work out exactly what is going on at Flexport.

Part 2 is an exclusive interview with possibly the world’s most powerful container shipping regulator: Daniel Maffei, Chairman of the US Federal Maritime Commission. 

He outlines how competition authorities across the world cooperate, what the future of detention and demurrage charges looks like, and what the FMC will do with its extended range of post-pandemic powers. He also explains what President Joe Biden thinks of the world of box shipping and freight.

Guests

Daniel Maffei, Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission

Alex Lennane, Publish, The Loadstar

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta

Credits: Created, hosted and produced by Mike King

Episode in more detail:

Part 1

What’s afoot at Flexport (2.26)

Core freight vs ‘Amazonification’ (3.53)

Container shipping rates (6.46)

What happens after Golden Week? (7.55)

Spot vs long-term contracts (10.47)

Mixed picture for air cargo (13.17)

Forwarders retaining air cargo networks (15.41)

Container shipping outlook (17.13)

Part 2

Introducing the FMC (21.03)

Refereeing the world of freight (24.12)

Detention and demurrage fees (26.15)

Sizing FMC fines (31.06)

FMC power grab? (33.20)

White House competition (35.37)

Working on rules with the EU and China (37.42)

More US legislation for container lines? (39.26)

What say you Mr President? (42.38)

Naming and shaming NVOCCs (45.46)

The US view of shipping post-pandemic (49.23)

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In this sponsored episode, Mike King, host and producer of The Loadstar Podcast, explores how the evolving needs of shippers are being met by DP World’s ever-expanding portfolio of logistics assets offering port-centric supply solutions from its UK terminals, including the rapidly expanding London Gateway terminal complex.

Mike is joined by Andrew Bowen, Chief Operating Officer of DP World UK, who also explains how the company is expanding its logistics footprint and adapting to the UK’s ever-changing trading opportunities and challenges.

Episode in more detail

Europe’s container trades and UK ports (1.54)

The development of DP World London Gateway (4.00)

Why the UK needs more box port capacity (6.42)

End-t0-end port logistics in practice (9.26)

Total logistics: DP World Group subsidiaries (11.41)

Customer interface and tech deployment (13.18)

Integrated logistics in action (14.30)

The importance of logistics parks (17.18)

Investing in a growing UK economy (19.31)

This podcast is sponsored by DP World.

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In this bumper post-summer episode of The Loadstar podcast, creator and host Mike King is joined by the Loadstar’s Mike Wackett and TAC Index’s Neil Wilson as they catch up on the big stories of late summer. They also dissect air and ocean freight rates, ask whether the shipping peak season has already been and gone, discuss the latest signs of yet more  consolidation, and examine if El Nino-induced lower water levels on the Panama Canal will disrupt ocean freight markets.

In part 2, Mike gets the views of two of the world’s leading ocean freight forwarders when he’s joined by Stephanie Loomis, Head of Ocean Freight Americas, Rhenus Logistics, and Peter Sundara Swamickannu, Head of Global Ocean Freight Product, Visy Logistics. They look at Asia’s export outlook, US domestic intermodal costs, the threat of union action at USEC ports, and how best to define and manage supply chain risk.

Guests

Stephanie Loomis, Head of Ocean Freight Americas, Rhenus Logistics

Peter Sundara Swamickannu, Head of Global Ocean Freight Product, Visy Logistics

Neil Wilson, Editor, TAC Index

Mike Wackett, Sea Freight Correspondent, The Loadstar

Episode in detail:

Part 1 – News, rates and outlook

Hapag Lloyd & HMM: a new liner marriage? (4.14)

Zim and MSC team up (8.33)

Luftie: bucking the air cargo downturn (12.00)

Air cargo rates with TAC Index (13.46)

Xeneta box rates with Mike Wackett (15.52)

Did peak season come early? (18.52)

China macroeconomics (20.59)

US/Europe demand and geopolitical risk (23.13)

Panama Canal surcharges (25.24)

Air cargo outlook (27.19)

Part 2 – Freight forwarder roundtable

Is peak season over? (30.00)

Carrier capacity cuts; too little too late? (33.05)

Liner Golden Week plans and GRIs (36.10)

US inventory levels weigh heavily (37.47)

Panama Canal and false black swans (39.56)

Asian exports forecast and China downturn (49.29)

China+1 and near-sourcing (44.24)

USEC labour action threat (48.49)

Freight outlook - positives and negatives  (51.53)

Credits: Created, edited and produced by Mike King for The Loadstar www.theloadstar.com

In this episode, The Loadstar Podcast examines the biggest stories and trends of 2023 including analysis of container line strategy and air cargo markets.

Host Mike King and the Loadstar team and guests also spotlight the latest shipping regulations and carrier decarbonisation benchmarks and look forward to what the rest of the year holds for freight, shipping and logistics stakeholders. Is there any reason for peak season optimism? How many container ships are due to be delivered? And will a bear market prompt more consolidation? Find out here.

Guests:

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta

Alex Lennane, Publisher, The Loadstar

Charlie Bartlett, Technology Correspondent, The Loadstar

Episode in more detail:

2023 so far (2.25)

Container line strategy; transformation efforts (4.45)

Air cargo rates and strategy (8.44)

Corruption in air freight (10.45)

The latest regulations from IMO explained (12.04)

Benchmarking liner emissions (15.59)

Decarbonisation: A watershed moment for freight media? (20.43)

2024 forecasts – any sign of peak season? (25.15)

Not all container trades are in the red (26.39)

But record deliveries are due (30.07)

Air cargo sentiment (35.15)

Inventory, inflation and employment levels (37.27)

M&A outlook and when will freight rebound (43.24)

Credits: Created, produced and edited by Mike King

www.theloadstar.com