June 15, 2020: COVID-19 Update

Ocean:

On June 19, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), at 29 West Coast ports, including Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, San Diego will halt work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in honor of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. ILWU workers will observe an eight-hour "no work day".

Another round of General Rate Increases are due to come into force June 15 on trans-Pacific lanes, which are benefiting from strong carrier discipline as well as increasing cargo demand. On the back of this increased demand, utilization levels are in some instances at over 100%, leading to some cargo being rolled. Spot container freight rates between Asia and the US continued to surge this week as businesses in the US prepared to reopen after being shuttered since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air:

Delta Air Lines has received approval from the Shanghai government to resume flights beginning June 18 after months of suspension due to COVID-19. Chicago-based United Airlines said it only expects to fly about 25% of its normal schedule in July. Forwarders and truckers advised JOC.com that cargo pickup and drop-off wait times at major US hub airports have increased from four to five hours prior to the pandemic to between six and seven hours on average, with anecdotal reports of wait times of up to one week.