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After Airbridge Exits; Airfreight Rates Rise
While the US is considering a ban on Russian airlines, it hasn’t been executed yet. ABC had 2 aircraft in the US, but now both are gone. It’s not just Russian airlines that are affected, however, as Finnair Cargo has cut all operations to east Asia as well. This has reduced capacity even more, creating a strain on the supply chain that was already rife with capacity issues in the first place. Finnair stated it would not be operating in Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, or Guangzhou either.
New Shenzhen Lockdown Will Hit Supply Chains Harder Than the Suez Canal Disruption
Ocean carriers are scrambling to adjust their networks as the Chinese city of Shenzhen began a week-long lockdown. According to a notice issued by the Shenzhen Covid-19 Prevention and Control Command Office, the tech-city’s circa-17m residents must stay at home – apart from going out for three rounds of testing – following which, “adjustments will be made according to the new situation”.

China’s Covid-19 Flare-Up Threatens Backlog at Busy Port of Shenzhen
Cargo ships are accumulating at one of China’s busiest ports after another Covid-19 outbreak shut down factories and warehouses in Shenzhen, raising the prospect of a new round of bottlenecks that could push up freight rates and slow deliveries. There are more than 35 ships waiting to dock in Shenzhen and another 30 farther north in Qingdao, according to shipping brokers. The Port of Shenzhen, which serves a major manufacturing and export hub, includes the Yantian terminal, which handles about a quarter of all U.S.-bound Chinese exports.
Importers Try to Ship Around Potential Labor Disruption
U.S. importers are already starting to reset their supply chains to avoid disruptions ahead of potentially contentious contract talks this summer between West Coast dockworkers and the companies that manage the flow of goods through ports. Some shippers are pulling forward their holiday-season orders to get them into domestic networks early, logistics operators said, and many are diverting cargo that normally moves through the West Coast to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
NEWS FROM COPPERSMITH

Trans-shipment dwell times have increased 43% across Europe since February 17th due to the Russian attack on Ukraine bringing massive disruption to the trade industry. Since troops began to mass on the Ukrainian border last month, disruption has been a mounting tidal wave that has pushed export dwell times up by 25% in European ports, and 43% for trans-shipment cargo specifically. 
Once again, shippers of lithium batteries by air must prepare for changes to the regulations that become effective from 1 April.
This time, the changes are buried in the multi-page packing instructions 965 and 968 of the 63rd edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Neither lithium ion nor lithium metal batteries can be sent under the Section II provisions.
Average vessel waiting times for berth and labour have improved significantly at the San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the past few weeks, halving the number of queueing ships to below 50. Moreover, according to the latest data from the Los Angeles Signal port optimizer platform, the average waiting time at LA terminals has fallen to 3.1 days.
There were 64 container ships waiting off East and Gulf Coast ports — and it looks like it’s about to get worse. The number of liner services calling from Asia will surge to a new record high in the coming months. More cargo is diverting away from the Pacific gateway in Los Angeles/Long Beach, where the ship queue has fallen to 42.
A northeastern Chinese province imposed a rare travel ban on its population as the region's Omicron outbreak helped drive China's tally of new local COVID-19 cases so far this year higher than any recorded in 2021.
China reported 1,337 new domestically transmitted COVID infections with confirmed symptoms.
Air cargo shippers on Asia to Europe lanes should expect a hike in prices after a substantial amount of capacity has come out of the market.
The EU and UK ban on Russian aircraft in their airspace has seen Volga-Dnepr Group’s Air Bridge Cargo remove all its aircraft from Europe in February. But it is not just Russian airlines impacted.