Due to the escalation of military conflict in Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities closed the port of Odessa on Thursday, February 24th. Several ocean carriers including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and CMA CGM have closed their local offices, sending their employees to work from home, and suspended all vessel calls to and from Ukraine until further notice.
Airfreight in the region is under increasing pressure as aircraft avoid flying close to. FedEx and United Parcel Service Inc. cut off shipments to and from Ukraine and now have suspended shipments into Russia. Air cargo shippers on Asia to Europe lanes should expect large increases in prices due to the significant amount of capacity removed from the market.
The severity and amount of regional and global supply chain ripple effects remain to be determined but expect there will be impact on areas such as fuel costs, port congestion and others. Laufer Group will continue to monitor the situation and update accordingly.