Good morning, lovely people. It’s a relatively quiet morning for logistics in the region — and abroad — with two big stories worth your attention: Morocco’s Tanger Med Port is getting one of the first sustainability-linked loans for the ports sector, and OQ is floating a 49% stake in OQBi on MSX. Also: DAE leases out its new aircraft.

BUT FIRST- It’s PMI day: Purchasing managers’ indices measuring the non-oil private sector’s performance in October in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are out — and they tell different stories. While the sector continues to expand in Saudi Arabia (pdf) — rising to 56.9 — and the UAE (pdf), the UAE is still seeing softening demand despite the PMI increasing to 54.1. Over in Egypt (pdf), business activity continues to decline amid persistent cost pressures.

^^ We’ll have everything you need to know about the PMIs at length in tomorrow’s issue.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Turkey forms council to connect Iraq’s Development Road to Europe: Turkey has formed a four-nation council with Hungary, Bulgaria, and Serbia to integrate Iraq’s USD 17 bn Development Road multimodal project into Europe, Iraq’s Minister of Transport Razzaq Al-Saadawi told the Iraqi News Agency. Related infrastructure projects for the Development Road are 75% completed, with final designs for the railway segment underway, the minister said.

ICYMI: The initial design of the railway and topographic survey for the Development Road project is complete. Five berths have already been constructed for Grand Faw Port, a crucial link for the project, with phase one set be completed in 2025.

REMEMBER- The UAE, Iraq, Turkey, and Qatar signed a preliminary agreement in April to work together on the Development Road project, which aims to connect Iraq’s Grand Faw Port to Turkey’s border via a rail and road network.

#2- Houthis will maintain blockade on Israeli vessels after reported asset sales: Yemen’s Houthis say they will maintain their maritime blockade against Israeli vessels in response to “intelligence information” about Israeli shipping companies selling their assets, according to Reuters. The Houthis say they will not recognize any changes of ownership and warned against any collaboration with the Israeli shipping companies. The group will continue to target any ship belonging to, linked to, or heading to Israel, a Houthi spokesperson said.

ICYMI:Maritime security firms have raised the risk level for ships calling at Israeli ports, as terminals face the possibility of missile attacks from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

#4- Baltic Exchange launches platform for real-time freight insights: The Baltic Exchange — alongside UK-based software firm Zuma Labs — has launched a new platform that offers real-time Baltic Exchange indices and freight forward agreement (FFA) prices to shipping professionals, Splash247 reports. The platform — dubbed Baltic Exchange View — is tailored to provide brokers, charterers, and shipowners with immediate access to essential indices and prices to help them navigate daily market fluctuations.

#5- EDSCO’s concession for the Alex dry bulk logistics zone gets MP greenlight: Dry bulk logistics zone Egyptian MPs gave final approval to a bill allocating Egyptian-Dutch JV Egyptian-Dutch Shipping Company (EDSCO) a 30-year concession to develop a 35k sqm dry bulk logistics zone at Alexandria Port. EDSCO — a partnership between Netherlands-based Vitra and Egypt’s El Fateh — will manage and maintain the logistics zone, which is designed for dry bulk cargo with an annual capacity of 5 mn tons.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Opec+ postponement of output increase highlights reality of weak demand: Weak demand is an even bigger problem for Opec+ than geopolitical uncertainty, which is likely to be the main reason cited for Opec+’s choice to postpone increasing crude oil production, Reuters reports. The drop in Asia’s imports over the first 10 months of the year makes it highly improbable that demand growth will approach Opec’s projections. This is likely a major factor contributing to the recent decline in crude oil prices.

ICYMI- Opec+ pushed back its planned 180k bpd output hike for December for another month amid persistent concerns of soft oil demand from China and a glut in supply. The group still intends to move forward with its plan to revive 2.2 mn bpd of idle supply over the year, it said. Opec+ initially planned to start phasing out production cuts in October, but later pushed the plans back to December as oil prices fell.

Yes, but: “There is a bit too much doom and gloom and pessimism in terms of the demand outlook,” Opec Sec-Gen Haitham Al Ghais told CNBC on the sidelines of the ADIPEC forum in Abu Dhabi (watch, runtime: 03:50). The group is pegging oil demand growth at 1.9 mn bbl / d this year, which exceeds pre-pandemic averages and the post-pandemic recovery rate of 1.2 mn bbl / d, Al Ghais said, citing China’s recent stimulus package and strong performance in the US economy as driving factors.

Oil prices are up marginally in early trading, with Brent crude futures rising to USD 75.17 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures up to USD 71.55.

#2- Baltic index continues to ease: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — dropped 0.3% on Monday, its lowest reading since January. The capesize index gained one point, while the panamax index lost four points and the smaller supramax fell nine points.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Adipec is on its second day today and runs through to Thursday at Adnec Center in Abu Dhabi. The event — the biggest oil and gas forum in the world — brings together over 40 ministers and over 200 C-suite executives and technology leaders from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, focusing on innovation and partnerships to advance the energy transition.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Airport Exhibition on Monday, 11 November and Tuesday, 12 November in Riyadh. The two-day exhibition will bring together global industry leaders to discuss the latest technologies around the world in the aviation industry. It looks to encourage discussion between Saudi aviation leaders and the global supply chain industry.

Bahrain will host The Bahrain International Airshow on Wednesday, 13 November and Friday, 15 November near Awali. The three-day event is bringing together over 180 participating companies from over 59 represented nations globally.

Egypt will host the Autotech Exhibition on Sunday, 17 November until Tuesday, 19 November in Cairo. The event will bring together prominent local and international companies to discuss and evaluate the latest developments and trends in the automotive aftermarket and feeder industries.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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