Latest update: Current loading restrictions in Europe due to Covid-19

Latest update: Current loading restrictions in Europe due to Covid-19

In the following you will find the current loading restrictions that apply to Europe (see download). Food transports are excluded from this. This document here will be updated on a regular basis.

Supporting Africa’s logistics needs with bulk ocean freight

Before seafreight containers took over sixty years ago, break bulk was the main form of moving cargo. Roughly 90% of all goods worldwide are still shipped by sea, of which 70% is now containerised cargo. Break bulk seafreight however still makes up a significant segment of transportation and has several advantages for clients, whether by air or seafreight, says Detlev Duve, managing director of DACHSER South Africa.

Globally, logistics leader DACHSER has undertaken many complex break bulk shipments. Due to Africa’s economic reliance on the extraction of natural resources, logistics operators in Africa will often be required to facilitate the movement of large machinery and parts.

Striving for security of supply

In the recent past, supply chains have proven increasingly fragile and at risk. The reasons are manifold. To counteract this, companies are taking far-reaching measures. What these look like and how DACHSER can manage complex supply chains against this backdrop are the thoughts of CEO Burkhard Eling.

The past 18 months have laid bare some of the weak points in the global economic system: just-in-time with lean warehousing, the focus on individual manufacturing sites in Asia, and the one-sided concern with efficiency and costs—all relied on structures that proved too fragile and too susceptible to disruption.

Companies have now analyzed their supply chains and are taking concrete action, such as expanding their warehouse capacity in Europe and the US, decentralizing production, and obtaining raw materials and intermediate products from multiple suppliers. In short, they are striving for security of supply. But that does not imply a shift to de-globalization. Supply chains will remain global, but they will become more complex.

Finding solutions even under difficult conditions

At DACHSER, we have no trouble managing complex supply chains; in fact, it’s our core expertise. We’re able to offer solutions that work even under difficult circumstances, which explains our continued success in the first six months of 2022. But prospects are dim: enormous cost increases in almost all areas will stifle demand and, as a consequence, significantly slow the current growth momentum.

We are already hard at work preparing for this scenario. For instance, we’re investing in digitalization and automation to make supply chains more efficient and more transparent. But we’re also investing in the people at DACHSER. After all, digital skills at all levels of the company will decide our success in the future.

Ahead with foresight