Welcome!
On the 17th of this month, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd took the industry by surprise in announcing they would together form 'The Gemini Alliance'.
“Yeah, that’s a bombshell!” ~ eeSea founder Simon Sundboell.
But why was this unexpected?
Early this month, supply-chain stakeholders rejoiced as a dispute between striking workers and their employers that had been ongoing since October 2023 finally found a resloution.
But who came to an agreement?
Image: © Sebnem Ragiboglu
The major news this month came on the 26th when the MV Dali allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Balitmore, Maryland.
What was estimated to be the economic impact of the waterway closure per day?
Image: Harford County MD Fire & EMS
On the 30th of this month, the UK government was set to introduce health and safety checks for EU imports under new Brexit rules.
This, however, was delayed as the The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) made clear that the systems would not be fully ready on time.
How many times had the proposed checks for food, fresh and animal products entering the UK now been postponed?
Image:© Thomas Holt
The seventh annual Supply Chain Salary & Career Report, by the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) was released this month with responses from 5,435 supply chain professionals – 42% of them classified as staff or associate, 40% managers, 10% directors and 1 CEO, the remainder in other positions.
The report's respondents saw their average salaries increase by 8% from the previous year. But what was recorded as the median salary?
Image: © Paura
Desperate to provide capacity in a soaring spot market, ocean carriers began setting records for the price they would pay to charter additional tonnage.
Maersk set a record in June when it agreed to pay X amount to charter Taiwanese regional carrier TS Lines’ 7,000 teu newbuild Kota Valparaiso for three months.
But what did it reportedly pay per day?
Image: © Anyaberkut
On 19 July, supply chains were paralysed by a Microsoft IT outage, with airports and airlines particularly affected due to the regularity with which planes transit through airports each day, whereas containerships are often at sea for weeks before they enter a port.
Do you remeber the actual cause of the outage?
Image: © Dwnld777
After being initially scheduled for 22 May but pushed back multiple times due to an elongated process with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, the Teamsters Union in Canada initiated a nation-wide rail strike in August.
The Canadian government then stepped in to end the rail strike, forcing the parties into binding arbitration. But how soon after the strike began did they intervene?
Image: © Stefania Eymundson
Tensions were rising this month between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshormen's Assoication (ILA) to reach a deal before the initial strike deadline of 1 October.
Fill in the blank from ILA President Harold Daggett's open letter to members on 7 September:
"They better get ready for the biggest _____ they’ve ever seen."
Image: ILA
This month, Polish authorities arrested four people on allegations of endangering DHL's freighters and crew, as concerns deepened over suspected Russian efforts to plant explosives in EU supply chains.
The packages were alleged to have been prepared so they ignite autonomously or explode while airborne or being trucked.
What did German officials tell European logistics companies to be on the lookout for being sent via freight?
Image: ©Colicaranica
On the 25th of this month, the incoming US President revealed on Truth Social his plans to introduce tariffs to imports from Mexico, Canada and China.
Fill in the blank:
"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its _____ Open Borders."
Image: ©Joe Sohm
Ocean carriers, undeterred by the looming threat of over capacity, have been placing more and more orders this year in a bid to keep on top of supply-chain disruption and the need for fuel-efficient vessels.
As of December, what percentage of the active fleet did the containership orderbook roughly stand at?
Image: ©Chormail
Been on strike?
You really need to read The Loadstar more in 2025.
Why not subscribe to The Loadstar Premium to brush up on your knowledge even more?
Image: ©Brad Calkins
Pretty average, nothing to write to LinkedIn about.
This score is like reading any supply-chain news that didn't come from The Loadstar... not that exciting.
Image: ©Convisum
Congratulations! You are officially a total supply-chain nerd.
Xeneta's Peter Sand told The Loadstar Podcast that ocean carriers were the 'winners' of 2024... guess he didn't hear about you!
Image: ©Thomas Nuehnen