THE YEAR IN A NUTSHELL
The freight and logistics industry faced, what can only be described as a ‘perfect storm’, these past two years, but more so in 2022. First came Covid-19, with the backlogs in China and their ongoing lockdown and port closures, followed closely by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine which is still wreaking havoc with the European economy.
Combined, they brought a triple wave of challenges to our sector — congestion at ports, union strikes and a huge hike in the price of fuel.
Nevertheless, we remain optimistic about the future of international trade and trust in the resilience of our freight and logistics industry.
We have had to cope with lots of issues this year, but we are a robust company in an agile industry and we have gone out of our way to ensure we kept and still keep goods moving for our customers.
These past two years have been the most challenging in business’ history and the impact and ripple-effect on trade is being felt worldwide, not just here in South Africa.
We have learned many lessons over the past months and years, but the biggest learning we made throughout this period, is that our customers are extremely loyal to NATCO and clearly understand the value we bring to their business with our strategic approach and expert team.
We are truly grateful to you all for your amazing support throughout this trying time.
Post-Covid it is encouraging that economic activity is certainly growing again and despite the challenges experienced, the pandemic reinforced the vital need to infuse new freight technology trends into the supply chain to help minimize future disruptions and allow for smarter decision making to ensure consignments are in the right place at the right time.
Prior to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, new technology was beginning to make significant strides within the traditionally manual, paper-based freight forwarding sector. An area of the supply chain often associated with an intricate web of players, including ocean, air and land controlled by various international governments, it has historically proven difficult to move the needle on the widespread adoption of new freight technology to modernize established processes.
However, the pandemic and the ways in which it subsequently accelerated the e-commerce boom both reaffirmed and accelerated technology advances in the area of freight forwarding.
We are heading to a future where incorporating the latest freight technology into the supply chain process will no longer be a nice to have, but critical to operating a successful business.
In response to this fluid environment, NATCO realised the need for agility and definite action at the outset of the pandemic and so has continually been investing in technologies that streamline and improve our logistics operations and supply chains demands .
Over the course of the next 12 months NATCO will be focusing on managing sea and airfreight rates and service stability to ensure we are not only able to meet our clients demands. but are set for a more digitised environment and alignment with all our global shipping partners around the world.
Chinese New Year 2023 is almost upon us, with millions of people across the globe set to celebrate.
The first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the year of Rabbit, is on January the 22nd, 2023.
In Taiwan, the 2023 Chinese New Year Festival Holiday starts from Jan 20th to Jan 29th, 10 days. I
In China, the holiday starts from Jan 21st to Jan 27th, Jan 28th (Saturday) and Jan 29th (Sunday) are working days.
Generally Chinese workers take about 7 days off during this period but factories may be closed for longer because many families use this time to travel home to visit family. However 2023 may be different due to the long periods of shutdown and the rules may be different in order for these businesses to recover economically.
Please be aware this means that most suppliers and shipping agents in the region will most likely be closed between 20 February and 29 February 2023.
We suggest you factor this into your stock planning for the next few months to carry you over.
From the management and staff at NATCO LOGISTICS we truly would like to thank you for your incredible support to ensure we pushed through some very difficult times this year.
We wish you and your family a joyous, peaceful and healthy festive season and a great and prosperous New year, and hope that you will take the time over this period to enjoy your family time and return invigorated for 2023.
