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Challenge Group adds new US-Europe-India freighter operation

The Challenge Group is adding a new widebody freighter service connecting India, Belgium and the US. The service will utilise a Boeing 777 freighter and operate on a loop of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI), Liège Airport (LGG) and Chicago Rockford (RFD). The twice-weekly service will start on 4 November and follows the group's decision to temporarily suspend freighter operations at the Indian airport due to operational challenges. Challenge added that in Liege, it can offer a network of approximately 1,500 truck movements per month for onward access across Europe. The service will primarily cater for pharmaceuticals, oversized and out-of-gauge cargo, with plans to introduce live animal (AVI) transportation in the future. "Chicago is a strategically important market, serving a broad range of industries that depend on reliable international cargo connectivity," said Or Zak, group chief commercial officer, Challenge Group. "By introducing this service through Rockford, we are creating additional opportunities for customers moving specialised cargo between India, Europe and the US." The new service also supports RFD's ongoing efforts to expand its international freighter network and establish the airport as a gateway for specialised cargo entering the country, Challenge said. "This new service is a direct result of our continued efforts to attract international freighter operators to Rockford, particularly the work we have undertaken to establish the airport as a leading cold chain corridor into the United States," said Zack Oakley, executive director, RFD. "We see significant potential to grow this partnership beyond the initial twice-weekly service, including increasing flight frequencies and supporting AVI transport." The airport pointed out that RFD is located within approximately 40 miles of animal quarantine facilities, at a comparable distance to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and is in the process of securing approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support AVI shipments. "RFD is well positioned to support this service as it develops, with cargo-focused infrastructure and the capacity to accommodate specialised freight," said Rene Espinet, vice president - cargo business development, RFD. "Challenge will have access to the wider Chicago market, combined with the efficiency, flexibility, and reduced congestion of a dedicated freighter airport." RFD is also coordinating dedicated temperature-controlled trucking capacity, providing onward transportation to destinations in the Rockford area and warehousing facilities in Chicago. The announcement was made during the TIACA Air Cargo Forum.

Newbuildings head for Asia-Latin America trades as volumes boom

Deliveries in the past week have been primarily deployed to services between the Far East and Latin America, highlighting growing volumes on these trades. Alphaliner noted that Imabari Shipbuilding completed the 13,932 teu ONE Symphony that will be deployed on ONE's Asia-WCSA AX3 service the pan-Japanese carrier runs jointly with MSC and Hapag-Lloyd. This is the 14th in a series of at least 15 vessels that various Imabari Group yards are building for ONE. Symphony will sail to Qingdao to commence operations. MSC took delivery of the 10,300 teu MSC Licia X from Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, and will assign the ship to its solo Far East-East Coast of South America Carioca loop that deploys a fleet of 15 ships of between 8,000 and 12,000 teu capacity. The new dual-fuel vessel is the sixth in a series of ten the yard is scheduled to deliver to MSC this year and next. MSC ordered the series in August 2023 for around $130m per unit. Zhoushan Changhong delivered the MSC Licia X 11 months ahead of schedule, illustrating the improving techniques of Chinese shipbuilding. Another Chinese firm New Times Shipbuilding, delivered the 8,454 teu CMA CGM Austral to Eastern Pacific Shipping. The ship is the last of four sisters New Times built for the Singapore-based non-operating shipowner. All four vessels are committed to long-term charters to CMA CGM, and CMA CGM Austral will serve the French line's Far East-Mexico M2X service. Finally, George Economou's TMS Group took delivery of the 7,900 teu Garnet from South Korea's HJ Shipbuilding & Construction. This is the second of four sisters commissioned in 2024 for $108m each, all for long-term charter to Zim. The Garnet will be assigned to the newly launched Far East-east coast South America ZFS service Zim runs with Hapag-Lloyd, part of a sustained shake-up of vessel sharing agreements on the Asia-South America trades, and features a port rotation of Shanghai-Ningbo-Xiamen-Hong Kong-Yantian-Rio Grande-Paranagua-Itajai-Santos-Rio de Janeiro. It turns in 77 days and will eventually deploy a fleet of 11 ships. So far, ZFS is served by vessels in the size range from 5,500 to 9,000 teu, with both carriers acting as vessel providers. Trade between China and South America has been growing in the past three years, with Container Trade Statistics registering 4% year-on-year growth, to 563,407 teu, in August. China exports machinery, electrical equipment, telecoms infrastructure, and electronics to South America, while importing vital agricultural and mining products.

250 watchmen, one picket line and half of America's busiest port complex

A threatened Sunday walkout at Los Angeles and Long Beach may be delayed until Wednesday. The real danger is the reach of a small union local, with 35,688 containers already waiting for rail service. It takes a special kind of labor dispute to put half a port complex at risk with a workforce smaller than the guest list at a medium-sized wedding. At Los Angeles and Long Beach, some 250 security watchmen have managed it without leaving their posts. var reg_x; jQuery(document).ready(function () { //reg_x = new RegBlockForm(); reg_x.initForm('387cfbafdc','7a74acd3ce','62ed8f1883'); });