American port strike comes to an end
This week’s port strike across the US east and Gulf coasts came to an end on Thursday after dockworkers struck a tentative deal with port operators. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) announced that the union had reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on wages, suspending their walkout until January. Work resumes straight away. The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62%, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Both sides said in a statement they would return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues while their existing contract would be extended through to January 15. In a statement from the White House, president Joe Biden said: “Collective bargaining works, and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”
MSC container ship loses boxes overboard off South Africa
The MSC Taranto lost five empty containers overboard on 2 October between 01:00 hrs and 04:00 hrs local time while sailing past South Africa, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said. “The vessel, which is currently enroute to Colombo, Sri Lanka, reported that the containers – two (2) yellow and three (3) red -were lost at sea. The exact location of the containers is reported to have been along the west coast between Mossel Bay and Stillbaai.” Another MSC vessel the MSC Antonia lost 46 containers overboard and suffered damaged to a further 305 boxes in the Indian Ocean corridor off South Africa on 28 August. There have been a spate overboard container losses from box ships transiting the Cape of Good hope during the winter months. At least five other container vessels have lost over 200 containers in severe winter weather in recent months while transiting the waters around South Africa. These incidents involved box ships Benjamin Franklin, the CMA CGM Belem, Maersk Stepnica, Rio Grande Express, and MSC Antonia.
1 in 6 Florida gas stations already out of gas as Hurricane Milton nears
Some parts of South Florida are already dealing with major gas supply issues as thousands flee the state ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall Wednesday night. GasBuddy, an online service that tracks thousands of retail prices around the country, reported that as of 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, about 16.5% of gas stations in Florida were out of gasoline. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, almost 44% of gas stations have no gasoline. Hurricane Milton is expected to slam into the Tampa area sometime Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm with maximum wind speeds of around 155 mph, less than two weeks after the state was hit by Hurricane Helene. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) also warned of rainfall of up to 15 inches in portions of western Florida through Thursday. Milton could generate “considerable flash, urban and area flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding,” according to NHC. Ozkul said if the port or other critical supply chain infrastructure in the area is damaged or unable to operate for any length of time, it could lead to rising fuel prices.
GlobalX Airlines to open cargo lane between Chicago, Puerto Rico
Startup carrier Global Crossing Airlines has struck a unique partnership with a digital freight exchange to launch cargo service between Chicago and Puerto Rico, filling a market need for direct, affordable containerized transport while providing the airline’s fledgling cargo business a welcome jolt. Under a deal announced last week, Airblox, a startup airfreight capacity wholesaler for medium-term contracts, will have primary responsibility for feeding shipments to Global Grossing Airlines (OTCQB: JETMF) and sustaining the route. GlobalX, as the airline is also called, said it will fly an Airbus A321 converted freighter three times per week between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and San Juan, beginning Oct. 10. The service will be exclusively available to freight forwarders through the Airblox platform, which is essentially operating as marketing partner for Global Crossing. Global Crossing, a fast-growing passenger charter operator based in Miami, operates 18 A320-family aircraft, including four A321 used jets converted to freighter configuration. It has struggled to grow cargo business since entering that market in mid-2023 because of lukewarm regional freight demand, overcapacity in narrowbody freighter segment and greater customer familiarity in North America with the incumbent Boeing 737-800 converted freighter.
