Newsletter – March 10, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

More signs of some improvement in air cargo

aircargonews.net
More reports have emerged this week suggesting that there might be a slight improvement in the air cargo market led by the ramping up of production in China.
In its latest weekly market report, data provider TAC Index pointed out that the overall Baltic Air Freight Index covering prices by forwarders rose 3.5% in the week to March 6. Read more here.

Atlas Air takeover stumbles as US authorities take a closer look

theloadstar.com
Atlas Air’s takeover by Apollo Global Management was expected to close in the first quarter – but it looks as if progress may have been hampered by regulatory authorities.
Yesterday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said its focus on “potentially illegal interlocking directorates” had forced a number of directors to resign from corporate boards owing to “interlocking” interests. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

ONE ‘actively pursuing M&As’

splash247.com
Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), one of the world’s largest shipping companies, has unveiled its latest medium-term business plan through to 2026, which aims to position the company as leader in decarbonisation.
Among the more intriguing parts of the detailed business plan, NYK, the lead shareholder in containerline Ocean Network Express (ONE), said that for its container holdings it would aim to “promote a bold growth strategy while also actively pursuing M&As”. Read more here.

Busan to install high-bay container storage system

splash247.com
DP World has announced the first commercial use of its BOXBAY high-bay storage system at its terminal in Busan, South Korea.
A contract was signed between Pusan Newport Corporation (PNC) and Boxbay FZCO – a joint venture of DP World and German plant technology supplier, SMS group – initiating the design and engineering works for the site. Read more here.

Near-collision in Panama Canal shows ‘an accident is waiting to happen’

theloadstar.com
OOCL Utah’s near-collision on Sunday with a Panama Canal lock gate suggests a tragic and costly accident is waiting to happen, say experts.
Video footage shows a fore-positioned ‘alpha’ tug almost crushed between the Hong Kong-flagged containership and the canal’s Agua Clara lock gate. There was no aft-situated ‘delta’ tug to stop the vessel. Read more here (login required).

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Prologis CEO sees logistics warehouse industry remaining on solid ground

freightwaves.com
Prologis Inc., the world’s largest logistics real estate developer and operator, sees nothing to stunt its short- to midterm prospects other than factors such as geographic or political firestorms that it can’t control anyway, the company’s chairman and CEO said.
All the elements that support Prologis’ business are extremely robust, Hamid Moghadam told an industrial real estate conference. Demand remains strong — though it has moderated — and is well diversified among the company’s many verticals, he said at the event Tuesday in Hollywood, Florida. Read more here.