Following the serious attacks on ships, mainly - but not only - container ships, in the Red Sea by the Houthi movement, shipping lines decided to redirect their ships around the Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid the operators risks of attacks to both vessel and crew. With these attacks the rebels are seriously hampering the traffic through the Suez Canal which is a strategic waterway and the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe. The rerouting adds another 3,000-3,500 nautical miles (6,000km) to this route and can make the voyage Asia- Europe 8 to 15 days longer, depending on the shipping segment.

Merzig – 17 January 2024 – DHL in Frankfurt and Paris, Kühne + Nagel as well as Lufthansa Cargo, Cargolux and Emirates SkyCargo are just some of the leading air freight players that trilatec supplies with its unique squAIR-timber product. Wooden beams, which are required for the assembly of air freight pallets, can thus be replaced by 80 percent lighter elements made of cardboard fiber composite material. Today, squAIR-timber is an integral component in the assembly of many shipments and saves fuel costs and CO₂ due to its lower weight.

The new Free Zone was opened on January 10, 2024 at a ceremony presided over by Mr. Kriengkrai Chaisiriwongsuk, Director General Port Authority of Thailand and representatives from WCAworld and its members Full Well Freight were in attendance.

At the turn of the year, Roman Fürtig took over the management of the HHM Representative Office Germany East of the Port of Hamburg. The graduate historian and political scientist is succeeding Stefan Kunze, who will be taking his well-deserved retirement at the end of April.

Frankfurt Cargo Services (FCS), the largest independent cargo handler at Frankfurt Airport, has appointed Federico Mosqueira as its new Director of Operations. The 45-year-old started the job on January 1, 2024. Mosqueira succeeds Christoph Cyranek, who took over the position from Markus Schneefuss on an interim basis in August 2023.

Baku, Azerbaijan, 11 December 2023 – Silk Way West Airlines, the leading cargo airline in the Caspian and Central Asian region, announces the expansion of its fleet with the addition of two Boeing 777 freighters. This investment comes in response to the increasing demand for air cargo services, and underscores the airline’s commitment to providing efficient and reliable transportation solutions around the world.

IRU welcomes the Council’s agreement on a well-to-wheel approach for counting emissions in the transport sector. Major points of unclarity remain on how to treat subcontracting, a common practice in road transport, and how much bureaucracy and costs the new calculations will place on transport operators.

The Council’s general approach takes small steps towards addressing driver shortages with the revision of the driving licence rules, better news is expected from the European Parliament. During the same meeting, the Council reached a historic agreement on the recognition of specific driving and rest time rules for coach tourism drivers.

IRU and ITF have reinforced their commitment to drive a just transition and improve the accessibility and attractiveness of the commercial driver profession with a Just Transition for Transport pledge.

Malaysia will now represent the largest network of tech-enabled ports in a single country ahead of the International Maritime Organisation’s compulsory MSW mandate in 2024
Mumbai, India, Thursday 23rd November 2023: Kale Logistics (Kale) and its partner, Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd (Dagang Net), have been awarded the Malaysia Maritime Single Window (MMSW) contract by Port Klang Authority and its nine subsidiary ports in Malaysia.

Close partnerships between German and Swedish ports and their customers promote sustainable transportation.

Pasadena, CA, and Zurich, Switzerland - November 14th, 2023 – COAST Autonomous, Inc. (COAST), a leader in AI and Autonomous Systems for industrial applications, and Nexxiot, a leader of Asset Intelligence solutions, have entered into a strategic partnership to improve efficiency,  security, and safety in logistics operations.

Singapore/Munich, 14 November 2023 – Over 7,300 participants from more than 60 countries attended the inaugural transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia, with resilient supply chains, sustainability and digitalization were the dominant themes at this first transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia, which took place in Singapore from 1 to 3 November 2023. Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, and China were represented with official country pavilions. During more than 50 conference sessions covering current industry topics, visitors had the opportunity to gain insight into industry trends.