UK – This week the biggest rival to the Handy Shipping Guide closed its doors with the news that Lloyd's Loading List is ceasing publication this month. The last printed issue will be published on 27 December and the website is to cease updates from 31 December 2021.
Lloyd’s Loading List evolved from Lloyd’s Weekly Shipping Index, first published in 1880 as an offshoot from Lloyd’s List, now one of the oldest continuously published journals, albeit in digital form only since 2013.
As part of Lloyd’s List Intelligence, itself a subsidiary of the Informa publishing group, the Loading List has been a permanent fixture on the desks of many a shipper and freight forwarder. It goes without saying that advertisers who wish to get the sort of coverage, particularly for services to and from specific destinations, can be sure the Handy Shipping Guide will be glad to accommodate them (and not at such eye watering rates).
As we have stated previously the migration of so many journalists specialising in logistics over to the public relations sector has led to a general lowering of standards across the industry throughout many publications, often merely reprints of press releases and the like, informative but tedious. There have been however one or two notable exceptions as regards news and Lloyd’s Loading List would count as one of these.
Whilst we act principally as a shipping and logistics directory whilst covering an amount of international industry news, often with a slightly tongue in cheek attitude, Lloyd’s took itself seriously with news being its principal aim and running up against such remaining excellent journalistic sources as the Loadstar.
One thing is certain, with the death of an industry leader, the profession will be worse off and those involved in the actual machinations of logistics all the poorer and less well informed.
Claim your free directory listing and view our advertising rates >