Good morning, friends. It’s an aviation bonanza this morning after the Routes World forum wrapped in Bahrain yesterday, with news from nearly all our regional players. We also have a troubling update from the US gulf coast as hurricane season ramps up.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- US Gulf Coast faces yet another hurricane: Florida Ports have imposed restrictions on its vessel navigation ahead of the fast approaching Category 5 Hurricane Milton which is expected to make landfall today. At least one oil and gas production facility in the Gulf of Mexico was shuttered on Monday, and the closure of terminals is expected to disrupt import and export activities. Most Gulf Coast energy infrastructure is not expected to be in the storm’s path. Multiple airports in Florida including Tampa International Airport and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport closed yesterday, Orlando International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport plan to close this morning along with other international airports. Some airports plan to resume operations on Thursday or Friday.

Another intense Hurricane: Hurricane Milton intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday, creating an urgent threat to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as it barrels toward Florida. The state has ordered widespread evacuations while still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

This story grabbed a lot of ink in the int’l press: Reuters | Bloomberg | The New York Times | BBC

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Red Sea disruptions cast a shadow over Jordan’s trade: Several Mediterranean ports in Turkey, Greece, and Egypt have increasingly been feeding Jordan’s Aqaba port with Far East cargo that could have arrived along mainstream routes through Bab El Mandeb, chairman of the Jordan Shipping Association Duried Mahasneh told The National. Although there have been no shortages, goods in Jordan have become more expensive. “We have been seeing a high rise in costs, delays, and less business. A big shipping line that we represent is no longer coming to Aqaba directly,” Mahasneh added.

In numbers: The number of cargo ships fell 61% to 4.5k ships in the first eight months of the year, while oil tanker traffic was down 64% to 2.2k. Despite the shortage in tankers, imports and exports handled by Aqaba port remained steady at 14.1 mn tonnes in the first eight months of the year. The increased activity at Aqaba saw it handling 296 container fitted vessels by the end of August, up 23% y-o-y. General cargo vessels handled by Aqaba fell 46% to 27%, and ships carrying cars and ro-ro vehicles decreased 61% to 49% during the same period. Container traffic was down 10% to 272k TEUs.

The solution? “There is no remedy other than building up feeder vessels to bring in the cargo and relying on Jebel Ali,” he added.

#2- Bahri sells old VLCC, snaps up new ultramax bulker: Saudi Arabia’s national shipping carrier Bahri sold a 303k dwt VLCC Safwa, built in 2002, for USD 31.7 mn, and is buying a 2018-built 62k dwt ultramax bulker Amis Miracle from Wisdom Marine, Trade Winds reports, citing brokers with knowledge of the transaction. Safwa’s price is slightly above VesselsValue’s estimate of USD 30.3 mn and above the Maritime Safety Information’s (MSI) USD 24.7-29.7 mn range.

This comes a few weeks after Bahri acquired nine oil tankers for USD 1 bn, from Capital Maritime and Trading Corporation. The company is also looking to expand its LNG fleet, adding 20 to 30 new tankers to boost Saudi Arabia’s fuel supplies and meet global demand.

#3- DHL expects increased airfreight demand in 1Q 2025: DHL is expecting an uptick in airfreight demand in 1Q 2025, continuing an anticipated upward trend in 4Q 2025, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Tim Robertson told Air Cargo News last week. “In 3Q we saw some mid-single digit increases in airfreight over 3Q of 2023. We do anticipate that post Golden Week we’re going to see a nice run up in volumes, so we should anticipate to see the volume increase. The environment is such that that trend should continue in the first quarter of next year,” Robertson said. The logistics giant is also anticipating an increase in airfreight from shippers on the back of the disruptions from the US port strikes.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices remained steady in early morning trading as traders assessed developments in the Middle East conflict against bearish expectations for demand, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose USD 0.22 to USD 77.40 a barrel at 03.49 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained USD 0.14 to USD 73.71 a barrel. Prices plunged over 4% in the previous session on the back of news of a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, but anticipations of a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure continue to affect trading.

#2- Baltic index continues its easing streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 2.5% to 1,860 points for the seventh consecutive session on Tuesday, registering their lowest since late August. The capesize index dropped over 5% to an over one-month low of 2,989 points, while the panamax index gained 26 points to 1,441 points. The smaller supramax notched up 7 points to 1,264 points.

DATA POINT-

#1- Iran’s foreign trade rose 9.4% y-o-y to USD 30.6 bn in the three months to 21 September, Iranian outlet Press TV reports, citing data by the House of Industry, Mine, and Trade. Iran’s exports increased 6.2% y-o-y to USD 12.3 bn during the same period, while imports increased 11.6% to USD 18.3 bn.

#2- Cargo handling at Saudi ports was up 7.8% y-o-y to 28.1 mn tons in September, according to figures released by the Ports Authority (Mawani). The number of export containers grew 9% y-o-y to 255.6k TEUs, while imported containers climbed 18% to 258k TEUs last month. Meanwhile, general cargo reached 975.k tons, solid bulk cargo totaled 4.47 mn tons, and liquid bulk cargo hit 15.3 mn tons. Transshipment containers dropped 43% to 159.5k, and total container volume dipped 8.1%.

***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 Global Logistics Forum from Saturday, 12 October to Monday, 14 October in Riyadh. The forum will gather key industry players, government officials, and industry experts to discuss optimizing operations and driving growth in the logistics sector. The event will take a specific look at how the sector can adapt with regards to global climate change and incorporate sustainability into their supply-chain operations.

Saudi Arabia will host the Global Airport & Aviation Forum from Wednesday, 16 October to Thursday, 17 October in Jeddah. The forum will bring together aviation leaders and experts to discuss future projects in the aviation industry, including new airport developments, capacity upgrades and expansions, new aircraft orders, and important airport services.

Saudi Arabia will host the Smart Ports & Logistics Transformation Summit on Monday, 21 October and Tuesday, 22 October in Riyadh. The two-day conference aims to discuss strategies, innovation, and technologies in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to position KSA as a logistics hub in the MENA region.

The UAE will host the International Conference on Tourism, Transport, and Logistics on Saturday, 26 October and Sunday, 27 October in Dubai. The event will gather scientists, scholars, and engineers from around the world to discuss new ideas and research development projects in the industry.

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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