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FAA adds new airworthiness directive certain Boeing 747-8Fs

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is adopting a new safety-based airworthiness directive (AD) for "certain" Boeing 747-8F series airplanes "prompted by reports of cracking in stringers and splice fittings located at stringer splices at multiple body stations". Effective 6 August, the AD requires an inspection of each free flange of the stringers at the stringer splice for radius fillers at certain fastener locations, an inspection for cracking of the stringers and stringer splice fittings at certain stringer splice locations, and applicable on-condition actions. "The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products," stated the AD document, issued on 2 July. The FAA previously issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to add the AD. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register in November last year. Required inspections are estimated to cost US operators up to $344,080, per airplane, said the FAA. The repetitive inspections are estimated to cost $85 per inspection area, every 48 or 96 months, depending on findings. The 747-8F was built from 2008 until Boeing ended the 747 line in 2023. The freighter first entered service in October 2011 with Cargolux and two of the last four 747-8F ever to be built are being operated by freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) and its subsidiary Apex Logistics through a charter partnership with lessor Atlas Air. Data from fleet tracking website Planespotters indicates that current operators of the 747-8F include UPS with 30 of the model; and Atlas Air with 17, two of which are leased by K+N and Apex. Cargolux and Cathay Cargo have 14 aircraft each, Nippon Cargo Airlines has eight and Silk Way West has five.

End of de minimis could prove a boost for high-flyer Glasgow Prestwick

Having "huge" real estate has left Glasgow Prestwick Airport fortuitously positioned, following the EU termination of its de minimis exemption for low-value imports and UK planning a similar move. Since 1 July, EU-destined parcels valued at less than €150 are subject to a per category duty of €3 after the bloc's removal of the exemption that had allowed surging volumes of cheap Chinese exports - topping 5.8m individual parcels - to enter the market unchecked. Business development director for Glasgow Prestwick Nico Le Roux told The Loadstar: "The first thing we'll see is the platforms - Shein, Temu, etc - shift their promotional activity towards the UK, just as they did with the US and Canada when the US ended its de minimis. "In Europe, we will then see a shift from the B2C model the platforms had been using, towards a B2B model, with a focus on the bigger airports that have the fulfilment centres capable of handling these volumes." The shift towards B2B necessitates the use of fulfilment centres as they offer the necessary space to break down bulk shipments for final-mile delivery and also streamline the customs entry process. For some of the regional gateways that were central to the ecommerce boom, the prospective loss of volumes to central hubs with better fulfilment facilities poses a potential existential nightmare, but for Mr Le Roux, de minimis termination does not spell the end. "Glasgow Prestwick has huge amount of real estate, which leaves it sitting in a very fortunate position, as it means we are able to put up fulfilment centres where many of the other smaller regional gateways are unable to," he explained. "Those with land restrictions could set up fulfilment centres offsite, of course, but this slows everything down and makes them far less attractive. We are helped by a government that has been supportive, and are working very closely on this front." Based around a per-category model, a package containing multiple t-shirts, as an example, would be subject to a €3 fee, but those containing three items, say a mix of t-shirts, socks, and gloves, would be subject to a €9 fee - and a handling fee, expected to be €2, is due to take effect in September. Both the €3 and €2 - if it takes effect - will remain in place for a two-year period while the bloc negotiates a new unified customs regime to more effectively contend with the rise of platform consumerism brought on by a Covid-induced spike in ecommerce sales. As for the situation in the UK, it too has trumpeted plans to end its duty-free exemption for low-value imports, but the timeframe for this remains up in the air, with a consultation process yet to conclude and confirm, firstly, if it is happening, and secondly, what it would look like. Mr Le Roux said: "I there is a good possibility that the UK will end its de minimis policy. Not only would it generate huge revenue, but looking at the country's political atmosphere, it seems there is a definite desire to move closer back to Europe." Short-term, Mr Le Roux said, he expected the impact of de minimis termination to be largely the same wherever it happened, with a "massive drop in volumes at first", as supply chains are rearranged, before a marked spike back to around 75% of where volumes had been.

BAL re-enters liner trades with transpacific loader

Opportunistic Chinese shipowner BAL Container Line is making a selective comeback to the transpacific trade, after exiting liner shipping to focus on being a tonnage provider. According to container shipping consultancy Linerlytica, BAL has postponed chartering its new 14,400 teu BAL Athena to Maersk Line for the Gemini Asia-North Europe AE3 service. Instead, BAL will deploy the vessel on an ad hoc China-US West Coast service, from 24 July, calling at Ningbo, Shanghai, Long Beach, and Shanghai, to take advantage of booming transpacific spot rates. Maersk is expected to take on the BAL Athena once it completes its transpacific stint in early September. BAL, which previously operated a standalone China-Mexico service, stopped its independent liner operation in January 2023, when rates began normalising after the Covid-induced boom. On 3 June, LC Logistics, BAL's intermediate holding company, said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing it had sold BAL Athena to China Development Bank Financial Leasing ,under a sale-and-leaseback transaction. It was one of two ships BAL ordered in June 2024; the other being sold to MSC in December for $170m, BAL realising a $25m profit. On Friday, the Shanghai Containerised Freight index showed the Shanghai-US West Coast rate had risen 9% from 26 June, to $6,630 per 40ft. The Shanghai-US East Coast rate gained 12%, to $8,296 per 40ft. However, Linerlytica said the SCFI figures did not reflect the real-time picture, adding: "Transpacific rates remain very firm, with carriers able to hold their 1 July GRIs. "Spot rates to the US west coast have soared above $7,000 per 40 ft while rates to the US east coast have risen to over $8,600, with the SCFI yet to reflect these higher rates," the analyst said. The early peak season has seen Shanghai-US West Coast rates surge fourfold from about $1,800 per 40ft in February.