NEWS AND ARTICLES

The Supply Chain Academy has this week confirmed a new partnership arrangement with the University of Essex, which will include the development and delivery of a unique new programme designed for supply chain leaders and their teams. Working in partnership, the Supply...

A new £60m scheme to improve rail links from the Port of Felixstowe has been given the green light by UK Transport Minister - Chris Grayling. The multi-million pound scheme will dual part of the Felixstowe-Ipswich branch line to increase its rail freight cargo...

In conjunction with the IOD (Institute of Directors), the Supply Chain Academy hosted a major Brexit focused dinner last week, which was enthusiastically attended by numerous UK supply chain leaders and experts. Speaking at the major industry event was Uniserve Group...

Recent factory closures and stricter import controls on waste paper and plastics, driven by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), are believed to be having a detrimental impact on the waste product industry. China has recently been taking radical steps...

Uniserve Seafreight Director Steve Ireland, is gaining a reputation as a major trophy magnet when it comes to awards, as the Lloyds List Global Awards 'Containership Operator of the Year' was presented to APL last week. Steve was a guest at APL's table during the...

Factories throughout China are preparing for shut down during the country’s National Holiday next week, but many have already been forced to close by government officials enforcing anti-pollution regulations. Northern China has seen thousands of businesses shut down...

Renowned Brexit expert, Allie Renison from the Institute of Directors (IoD,) will speak with business leaders at a thought leadership dinner to be held at the Supply Chain Academy’s Headquarters, Upminster Court on Thursday 5 October. Allie Renison, fondly known as...

Delays from Bangladesh are set to continue with an increase in backlogs since work stopped during Eid al-Adha (The Sacrifice Feast). Congestion at Chittagong port has heightened considerably in recent months, with the average time in port for vessels rising to almost...

Recent track subsidence on German railway lines has wreaked havoc with some logistics routes from Southern Europe and Turkey into the UK. The majority of intermodal services utilise the ro-ro ferry service from Istanbul to Trieste (Italy), before transferring to a...

Please be advised that Typhoon Hato is approaching Southern China, and is expected to make landfall in Guangdong province tomorrow. The tropical cyclone has continued to intensify in the past few hours and may pass within 100 kilometers south of the global financial...

As part of Uniserve's ongoing committment to keeping our clients fully informed of market changes, we would like to share some important industry news about Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL). The company has announced that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co.,...

The world’s largest container shipping group, Maersk, has been hit by a major cyber attack that is affecting a number of major companies around the world, with Maersk’s IT systems down across multiple sites and business units. In a statement last week,...

  A new ruling by the European Union has led to an increase in security for all flights from Bangladesh, which has resulted in additional costs being imposed by all airlines. Security procedures for traffic moving into the EU were stepped up after recent...

Following an initial announcement in October last year, Japan’s big three carriers Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K Line), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) have announced today (Wednesday 31 May) that their new joint venture...

The much anticipated UniOcean Lines Asian Service Directory has just been released, which includes all inbound and outbound loops and services currently available in the trade. In total, the in-depth schedule offers all 16 loops, that are otherwise marketed by the...

In a joint announcement today, Hapag Lloyd and UASC (United Arab Shipping Company) have confirmed that their much anticipated merger, to be one combined company, has completed. For the immediate future the two companies will continue to operate independently as they...

THI Group and UniOcean Lines reached agreement last week for THI to represent the 21st century global carrier as their official liner agent in Taiwan. UniOcean are globally served by a hand picked collective of independent liner agencies, including Uniserve...

Uniserve customer Chelsom have just received the prestigious 'Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade', in recognition of its outstanding export achievements over the past three years. The Blackpool based decorative lighting manufacturer won Britain's most...

More than 40 participants attended a Trailblazer Group meeting last month (April 26), which was held and chaired by the Universe Group at the Supply Chain Academy in Upminster. Attendees came from a broad cross section of business, higher education and professional...

The world's busiest container port, Yangshan in China's business hub of Shanghai, is battling heavy congestion brought about by dense fog, higher-than-usual volumes and reportedly the shake-up in shipping alliances. Numerous container vessels have been delayed outside...

The Supply Chain Academy are offering a promotional opportunity to executives for May; to try one of their leading edge masterclasses at an introductory price. The Leading Complex Change Through The Supply Chain masterclass would be extremely beneficial  to...

Last week saw the chosen route for the new Thames Crossing announced, which will connect Tilbury and Gravesend, meaning journey times to Dover and mainland Europe will be reduced. The new route, which will be some years in construction,  will bring much needed relief...

Air freight market conditions from the Indian Sub Continent are currently extremely busy, with demand often exceeding the uplift capacity. As with any squeeze on capacity, carriers are having to prioritise shipments, pricing is fluctuating and the industry is...

The first rail freight service from the UK to China departed from London Gateway yesterday, commencing a 17-day, 7,500-mile journey to Eastern China. 30 containers left the Essex terminal with British produce, including whiskey, soft drinks, vitamins and...

The Supply Chain Academy has recently launched a range of courses that will be great news for northern based supply chain professionals, as they are being delivered at Leeds Trinity University. In conjunction with our ongoing partnership with Leeds Trinity, to develop...

While the merger between ocean carriers Hapag Lloyd and UASC (United Arab Shipping Company) was delayed last month, UASC have still deployed their ships as part of the THE Alliance network from April 1. The two steamship lines were originally set to merge during March...

  Uniserve Manchester received a boost this week as Virgin Atlantic launched two new US services to and from the UK's busiest Northern airport. Virgin Atlantic have become the first ever carrier to provide direct flights between Manchester and San...

The first sailings of the new carrier alliances are fast approaching as we head into a new period for ocean freight. The alliances have been much publicised but Uniserve have prepared an easy to read pdf infographic for downloading, as a reminder of which carriers are...

The world's newest and largest container ship, capable of carrying over 20,000 twenty foot containers, has been completed and will make her maiden voyage during April. The MOL Triumph was received by MOL this week and is the first of six 20,000 TEU class container...

Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department has given the green light for airlines to implement Fuel Surcharge again on airfreight shipments from the region. Air Freight fuel surcharge from Hong Kong was temporarily suspended early last year when oil prices dropped...

  The degree apprenticeship proposal, chaired by the Supply Chain Academy and Uniserve Group, was today given government approval and listed as the occupational qualification for Supply Chain & Logistics. In a letter to Paul Stone, Uniserve Group HR Director,...

Some steamship lines have reportedly been refusing new bookings for containers from UK & European ports to the Middle East and Asia recently. The squeeze on capacity has been caused by cancelled sailings around the Chinese New Year period, largely influenced by...

Post Chinese New Year is usually a time when container space is readily available on the Asian inbound market, since very little is produced in the preceding fortnight. However, this year has not followed tradition, with the major shipping lines preparing to move from...

  The Alliance consortium has announced its schedule for their westbound loops from Asia to Europe this week, with the first sailing commencing on the 3rd of April. The Alliance includes the shipping lines Hapag Lloyd, K Line, MOL, NYK and Yang Ming and will be...

CP Training, our supply chain staff development and qualifications arm, are hosting their first ever training course at Leeds Trinity University on 15th and 16th May. The two day Demand Planning course, is a first for CP delivered in Leeds, as we work with the...

Uniserve and The Supply Chain Academy were both appointed as official partners of the governments 'Exporting is Great' campaign, which is a drive to encourage and assist new, occasional and regular British exporters, to develop and grow their overseas sales. The...

A surprise new ruling from Indian authorities means that all export shipments to the country will incur their service tax with immediate effect for Ocean Freight shipments to India. The service tax itself is not new, but had previously been collected from importers...

The Port of Dover’s flagship capital building programme has received a major boost after receiving approval for a £200m package of loans from a consortium of UK & European lenders. The Dover Western Docks Revival project will create a purpose-built cargo and...

Last year we told you how we are leading the design of the world’s first supply chain degree apprenticeship and the project is very much underway. The intention is for this to be ‘business led’, so there is still an opportunity for further participants to be involved...

Freezing conditions in the UK’s South East are having an impact on airports and ports, with weather conditions set to continue over the next 48 hours. Dense fog has continued to disrupt London’s runways with more than 100 departures from Heathrow and London City being...

Uniserve were presented with the prestigious ‘Air Cargo Service Award 2016’ at the British International Freight Association (BIFA) awards ceremony last night. The annual event was held at The Brewery London and attended by hundreds of industry representatives,...

Container bookings from Asia to Europe are running over capacity in the build up to the Chinese New Year (CNY) period, which starts at the end of this month. The capacity problems are causing a spike in spot rates and space issues, with suggestions that some steamship...

The first ever freight train service has been launched from China to London, with the first products already on their way. The weekly service departing from Yiwu in China, with an 18 day transit to East London, is expected to help bridge the gap between the longer...

For many years table tennis balls have strangely been classified as dangerous goods by the UN, but seemingly there is good news for ping pong as we move into 2017. The balls, which are made of celluloid or similar flammable plastics, have been on the list of goods...

We are delighted to hear that that the OSCAR campaign has reached its £1.5m fundraising target for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH). This campaign is the Ocean and Shipping Community Advancing Children's Health and Research. Between us, we have...

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has agreed a three-year slot purchase and exchange deal with the 2M alliance, but was not granted full membership. The alliance agreement, more recently referred to as the '2M + H" cooperation will also see Maersk Line and MSC take over...

Ocean Freight rates from Asia to North Europe have continued to increase over the past week, reaching a level barely seen on the route in recent times and following an approximate jump of 20% the week before. Some carriers are reportedly still stalling 2017 contract...

The European commission has given the go ahead for Hapag Lloyd to complete the 'acquisition of/merger with' UASC (United Arab Shipping Lines). With a combined capacity of almost 1.5 million TEU, the merger will make the new company the world's fifth-largest shipping...