Did You Know That…

…Does a return to Suez even matter? Maersk, CMA CGM and Zim have all expressed intent to return to the Suez Canal in recent weeks. So much tonnage is going to hit the water in the next couple of years, dragging out a Red Sea return is unlikely to be enough to stave off market decline.

…Thessaloniki launches project to double size of container terminal

·         Three-year construction project will double box terminal’s capacity and open port to 24,000 teu vessels

·         Greece eyes additional port developments as Trump envoy frowns on Cosco’s presence

·         Port tension comes as Greece strengthens role as energy hub, especially for American LNG.

Northern Greek port’s largest-ever expansion kicks off amid US scrutiny of Chinese role in Piraeus, the country’s largest gateway.

 

…Belgian ports unite for security initiatives. Belgian ports, both seaports and inland ports, are launching the groundbreaking Port 2 Port Security Platform, marking a first in Europe. This initiative, which involves collaboration with the National Drug Commission, aims to promote knowledge sharing and implement joint security measures.

 

…In the inaugural Leading Container Ports of the World (LCP) report, Singapore has been crowned the world's leading container port, followed by Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan. The report, issued by DNV and Menon Economics, evaluates 160 ports using 35 indicators across five categories: enablers, connectivity, customer value, productivity, sustainability and overall impact. Maritime transport underpins nearly 90% of global trade by volume, with container ports handling over 80% of non-bulk merchandise.

…Strikes continue to cause congestion at Antwerp-Bruges. Traffic in and out of both Antwerp and Zeebrugge was disrupted for two days.  three-day national strike was called by trade unions in response to austerity policies designed to reduce Belgium’s national debt. Operations at Brussels’ two airports and big train stations have been severely affected, and traffic in and out of both Antwerp and Zeebrugge have been affected, due to disruptions to pilotage and vessel traffic services at both ports.

…AD Ports takes stake in Egyptian box terminal operator. AD Ports Group has moved to deepen its presence in Egypt’s container sector with the acquisition of Saudi Egyptian Investment Company’s (SEIC) entire 19.3% stake in Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Company (ALCN) in a deal valued at around $278m.

…American consumers are miserable. But they keep spending. Consumer sentiment and retail sales have decoupled. This weekend America will once again be plunged into a frenzy of consumerism as retailers bombard shoppers with “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” sales. Even more than usual, bosses will be nervously watching the extent to which Americans are willing to empty their wallets. Americans on the whole are feeling dejected about their job prospects and nervous about inflation. As a result, they are telling pollsters that they plan to cut back on spending. In practice, however, they have been doing the opposite. On November 25th America’s Census Bureau released figures showing that spending at retailers and restaurants in September was up by 1% year on year, adjusting for inflation, hardly suggesting that consumers are tightening their belts.

…MSC steps up bid for market share with massive transatlantic capacity boost. MSC appears to be doubling-down on a strategy of building market share on the transatlantic trade with a large-scale capacity injection on its strings between North Europe and North America.

…Don't lose the human factor, but let AI do the gruntwork. Reducing errors in customs documentation represents one of the clearest benefits AI can bring to freight forwarding and logistics providers.

 

…The horrible Hong Kong fire death toll rise to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly. Hong Kong fire death toll hits 128, status of 200 unclear. Some 80 bodies ‘cannot be identified’, authorities say. Full-scale rescue work is ongoing, with a woman, an elderly man and pets evacuated.

          

…Cryptocurrencies have been plunging amid a sell-off in speculative assets. The price of bitcoin reached a record of $126,000 in October but was trading aound $92,000 this week.

 

…This week we welcomed our new member HESU Integrated Logistics in Tanzania and with this new asset, we further strengthened our footprint in Africa. Welcome to the HESU team to our EAA family ! (Attached find the latest update of our members-list.)

…Elephants and camels are surprisingly fond of Christmas trees. Many zoos feed leftover fir trees to them after the holidays – the animals enjoy the tough needles and especially the aromatic essential oils they contain.

…This DYKT news bulletin will be published on the website as well, go to www.eaanetwork.com.

Have a good  weekend !