Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

On paper, the latest earnings season looks rather good for the major 3PLs. Profits are improving, management teams are raising expectations, and almost everyone seems convinced their strategy is working. But after more than four decades in logistics, I have learned that impressive financial results do not necessarily make a better logistics provider. Behind the numbers, some companies are wrestling with integration, others are changing management structures that served them well for decades, and a few are taking entirely ...

"Dobbiamo affrontare l'influenza sproporzionata della lobby dei combustibili fossili. Il futuro del nostro pianeta non può essere negoziato secondo le condizioni di chi trae profitto dalla sua distruzione". Lo ha detto il segretario generale dell'Onu, Antonio Guterres, parlando alla Cop31 di Antalya in Turchia."I combustibili fossili sono la causa della crisi climatica - ha proseguito Guterres -. Non esiste un percorso credibile verso un clima sicuro senza abbandonarli. Qui ad Antalya, sono stato estremamente chiaro: lo richiede il clima, ma lo richiedono anche l'economia e la sicurezza".Per il segretario generale dell'Onu "abbiamo bisogno di una transizione accelerata che ci allontani dai combustibili fossili, una transizione che sia giusta, ordinata ed equa. La dipendenza dai combustibili fossili espone i Paesi a shock dei prezzi, turbolenze geopolitiche e instabilità. Cambiare fornitore non risolve il problema; ridurne la dipendenza, invece, sì"."Ciò significa espandere su vasta scala l'energia pulita - ha concluso Guterres -, le reti, i sistemi di stoccaggio, l'efficienza e l'elettrificazione pulita, garantendo al contempo che la crescita dell'energia pulita porti effettivamente a una riduzione della produzione, dell'utilizzo e delle emissioni legate ai combustibili fossili". Riproduzione riservata © Copyright ANSA Da non perdere Condividi

Container spot freight rates on the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades saw another week of gentle declines amid reduced demand post-peak season, while Asia-Europe carriers and their customers begin annual contract negotiations in earnest. This week’s World Container Index (WCI) from Drewry saw spot rates on its Shanghai-Rotterdam leg decline 3% week on week, to $3,504 per 40ft, while pricing on the Shanghai-Genoa route remained flat for the third week in a row, at $4,168 per 40ft. A new round of FAK (freight all kinds) levels are set to be applied next week, although they are modest in ambition and generally range from $4,500-$5,000 per 40ft on Asia-North Europe shipments, and between $5,500-$6,600 per 40ft on Asia-Mediterranean. They are largely around the level carriers have been targeting for the past couple of months. However, they are also being accompanied by increased number of blanked sailings – according to Drewry’s Container Capacity Insight, eight are scheduled for next week, compared with the five this week. The key aspect to this is that carriers and their customers are positioning for next year, with carriers keen to get spot rates up as much as they can to act as a guide for contract rates, and shippers are, understandably, eager for them to be suppressed after enduring a wild ride during much of 2026. “Those conversations are starting more or less as we speak,” Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told analysts at the line’s third-quarters earnings call this week. “As is usual at this time of year, not everybody sees the market the same – I think when one looks at contracts that will be closed for 2027, they will be at a higher level than what we have seen in 2026. “Also, when you take out the bunker component, that alone will push rates up, of course. But I think we will also see a fairly significant net increase of freight rates going into 2027,” he added. Much will therefore depend on the stickiness of pre-Chinese New Year peak season surcharges (PSSs) that are on their way for the beginning of December. Maersk has announced a $1,000 per 40ft PSS on Asia-North Europe shipments from 1 December, while CMA CGM is going earlier, with a $1,600 per 40ft PSS for Asia-Mediterranean shipments due on 25 November. While someLoadstarsources expressed surprise at the early timing, given that the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday begins on 6 February, Vespucci Maritime founder Lars Jensen noted it was probably appropriate, given that peak pre-CNY demand will occupy most of January. On the transpacific trades, rates have finally began to properly descend after remaining elevated throughout October. The WCI’s Shanghai-Los Angeles route was down 2% on the previous week, to end at $7,416 per 40ft, while its Shanghai-New York leg declined 3%, to $9,020 per 40ft container, its lowest since August. However, forwarders on the trade said widespread discounts had been available this week, and virtually no cargo had been booked at published rate levels. “Instead, actual moving rates are dictated by carrier promotional discounts and volume-based pricing, as space across Asian origin ports continues to open up,” said US west coast forwarder Freight Right. Carriers have responded to the slowdown in demand with more blanked sailings – eight transpacific voyages will be blanked next week, compared with four this week, according to Drewry – and Freight Right said shippers should be aware that the cheapest spot rates could come with poor reliability for the remainder of the year. “Ocean freight activity is expected to slow further through late November and December, supporting a broadly-stable-to-gradually-softer rate outlook. “Improved space availability should give importers more booking flexibility, although the lowest price may come with greater schedule uncertainty,” it said.

Nanning is seeking to transform itself from an inland Chinese city into an international logistics hub serving South-east Asia, leveragingPinglu Canal’s September openingto strengthen river-sea connectivity. It also wants to expand trade links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is accelerating the development of an integrated transport network spanning road, rail, waterways, and air, with the canal expected to play a pivotal role in connecting inland cargo flows to international shipping routes. Yesterday, Nanning municipal officials outlined the plans, with Municipal Bureau of Commerce deputy director Wu Shaopeng noting: “With the Pinglu Canal’s opening, Nanning port has evolved from primarily handling domestic trade into a departure point for river-sea intermodal transport.” At the Baliang joint operation area, in the Liujing Port district, berths 1 to 6 have opened to foreign trade, allowing international cargo to be imported and exported directly through the port. Landside logistics had also improved, said Nanning Municipal Bureau of Transportation’s director, Zhu Chao. The city’s expressway network now exceeds 1,500 km, while the Nanning International Railway Port operates daily cross-border rail freight services to Vietnam. Mr Zhu said: “Nanning’s railway port has become China’s largest consolidation and distribution centre for rail exports to the neighbouring country.” Air connectivity is also being expanded. Nanning Wuxu International Airport has an annual cargo and mail handling capacity of 400,000 tonnes, and operates seven international cargo routes serving ASEAN markets. It handled 127,800 tonnes of air cargo and mail between January and October, including 47,300 tonnes of international cargo. Meanwhile, the airport’s Yong Zhi Yi (Wings of Nanning) smart air logistics platform enables transfers between international and domestic flights, cutting four hours from the time needed to distribute ASEAN-imported fruit to destinations across China. Nanning is also seeking to improve the efficiency of cross-border cargo movements. Technical coordination for China-Vietnam cross-border express freight services has reduced station-to-station transit times between Nanning and Hanoi to as little as 14 hours. Looking ahead, Nanning plans to increase the frequency of international freight shipping routes and cross-border rail services to ASEAN, while improving connections between rail container services, road freight, and port facilities. Mr Zhu said: “Nanning will use the Pinglu Canal to revitalise its ports and promote coordinated development across the region. The longer-term ambition is to establish a two-way logistics corridor, facilitating exports of Chinese products to ASEAN markets through Guangxi, while providing an efficient route for South-east Asian goods entering China.”

Perishables shippers have limited room to absorb rising airfreight costs, airlines have warned, raising questions over how long some products can remain commercially viable to fly. While booming demand for AI infrastructure supports higher freight spending, flower and fruit exporters face a harder ceiling: what consumers will pay for their products. “Perishables are a very low-margin business, in which there is only so much the consumers will pay,” Fred Ruggiero, Cathay Cargo’s VP cargo for the Americas, toldThe Loadstarat TIACA’s Air Cargo Forum in Miami. Avianca Cargo CEO Diogo Elias highlighted the difference between customers shipping AI servers and “paying whatever”, and flower exporters with much less scope to accommodate higher transport charges. He pointed to WorldACD figures showing Latin American yield increases of around 7% to 8%, against 24% to 25% globally, illustrating the region’s difficulty passing on higher fuel costs. Atlas Air chief commercial officer Martin Drew warned that sustained cost increases could eventually push some commodities out of airfreight. “The longer it continues, what you start to worry about is … price elasticity, where you get to a point where it’s just no longer viable to send by air cargo,” he said, citing some perishable products as potentially vulnerable to modal shift. Yet sea is not always an option. For seasonal produce, a delayed harvest can eliminate the time available for an ocean journey, leaving exporters needing airfreight precisely when their plans have become harder to execute. “As a result of the weather, the harvest may be delayed. That means it’s going to miss the fast boats, so more has to be transported by air,” said Mr Ruggiero. For Cathay, getting South American cherries to Asian consumers involves coordinating capacity across several carriers and gateways. “Transporting cherries from Chile through Miami, Los Angeles, or New York and onward to Asia is a complex journey where speed and temperature control are essential,” he explained. “The product needs to move quickly, remaining at the optimal temperature throughout the journey. Otherwise, you’re left with an awful lot of cherry juice.” Those movements are organised well ahead of the harvest, with interline charter capacity feeding Cathay’s network. “We have charters lined up with interline carriers from Chile to Miami or Chile to Mexico, so we can get them out to Asia,” said Mr Ruggiero. “The problem is, if it’s all planned in advance and everybody is ready to go, what happens if the crop gets delayed? There’s a lot of communication involved amongst ourselves, the forwarders, the growers, and even down to the farmers.” One air cargo executive described the precarious economics of a business in which a year’s work could be threatened by rain at the wrong moment, adding: “I don’t think I’d ever want to be in that business.” Securing lift is another challenge. Cathay reported capacity shortages both from Asia to the US and within Asia. “So we’re trying to secure additional capacity within the region,” said Mr Ruggiero. Once space is booked, the handling requirements leave little room for improvisation. Treating all fresh produce alike can undermine the value of an expensive air journey. “On the handling side, it takes expertise to handle perishables properly, and every type of perishable is handled slightly differently,” he said. “For example: how cold they can be, how much humidity they can withstand, and whether they can be covered or not.” For forwarders, that means managing several moving targets – the harvest, connecting flights, handling conditions, and a freight bill the customer can afford. A delayed crop can require a faster journey, but it does not necessarily give the grower more money to pay for one.

Following the Democrats’ midterm US election victories, freight forwarders and importers could face greater stability in trade policy, but little immediate relief from existing duties. Nunzio De Filipis, co-CEO of CargoTrans, toldThe Loadstar Podcastthe election result could slow the pace of tariff changes, although he expects the duties to remain. “I don’t think we’re going to see the lever being pushed as fast as it has been,” he said, adding: “But I don’t see them going away.” He pointed to the survival of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods through successive administrations, noting that President Joe Biden had retained and expanded measures introduced during Donald Trump’s first term. Reutersreported this month that Democratic control of Congress would provide greater opportunities to scrutinise President Trump’s trade agenda, but noted that lawmakers faced significant obstacles to repealing tariffs, including presidential veto powers and existing executive trade authority. Similarly, the legislative and regulatory advisory arm of professional services firm EY explained in its recent trade policy alert that Democratic control would shift congressional committee leadership and increase oversight of trade policy. However, the advisory noted that the election result would not itself change the tariffs or presidential trade powers, while substantial legislative changes would still require sufficient Congressional support ,and either President Trump’s signature or a veto-proof majority. For Mr De Filipis, however, the bigger development could be a shift towards stricter customs enforcement. He suggested that tougher enforcement could attract bipartisan political support, particularly where it protects customs revenue and businesses complying with import regulations. “I think we will start to see 2027 really be the year of enforcement,” he said, and warned that importers were already experiencing increased audits and requests for information, with customs authorities increasingly leveraging technology to examine trade data more efficiently. Meanwhile, industry consultant Samantha Jones raised concerns about the wider economic implications of Democratic control, particularly for business investment, consumer spending, and freight demand. She suggested that potential increases in corporate taxation or regulatory costs could encourage businesses to reduce investment, hiring, and wage growth, although the policies ultimately pursued remained uncertain. “One potential risk I see is that higher corporate taxes or additional regulatory costs could encourage businesses to become more conservative with their budgets,” she said. She also highlighted the importance of AI infrastructure investment to manufacturing, construction, and freight volumes, warning that additional regulatory obstacles could slow development. According to Ms Jones, economic growth has increasingly benefited from technology-intensive industries, meaning strong headline economic figures do not necessarily translate into broader freight demand. Her concerns extend to household purchasing power, with persistent inflation and slower wage growth potentially weighing on consumer spending and, consequently, demand for goods transportation.

SME forwarders looking to enter pharmaceutical logistics should avoid competing directly with multinationals and instead focus on building specialist capabilities, says Pharma.Aero secretary general Frank van Gelder. Rising demand from clinical trials and time-critical healthcare shipments, together with the emergence of advanced therapies, is creating opportunities for SMEs, but Mr van Gelder said operators must demonstrate the requisite expertise, systems quality and dependability. He toldThe Loadstar: “SME forwarders should become indispensable specialists. The opportunities are in clinical trials, time-critical healthcare, advanced therapies, specialised regional corridors and high-touch services around research centres and hospitals. “An SME can combine local knowledge, quick decision-making and trusted international partners. Emerging connections with Chinese and Indian innovation ecosystems can create further possibilities, provided operators build real expertise rather than simply market a new lane.” But he warned forwarders off entering the pharma market simply because of the prospect of attractive margins. GDP compliance, qualified personnel, validated procedures, and temperature-control competence were needed to form the foundations of any operation. Going further, he noted certification alone was not demonstrative of an understanding of the requirements of different pharmaceutical products, with conventional medicines, clinical trial shipments, and personalised therapies presenting a fundamentally divergent set of challenges. Mr van Gelder added: “Agility without discipline is not resilience, it is risk. The winning combination is systems, specialist knowledge, human adaptability, and trusted partnerships. Collaboration is essential because no one company controls the full patient-critical chain. “The future is not necessarily about who owns the biggest network, it is about who can orchestrate the most reliable one. Do not compete on price alone. Compete on expertise, reliability, flexibility, and trust.” This, he added, included an ability to respond to disruption, which offered SMEs a way to distinguish themselves. Mr van Gelder argued that experienced and empowered teams could sometimes adapt faster than larger organisations with slower governance structures. Workforce resilience, he said, meant giving employees the confidence and authority to raise concerns and act when contingency plans no longer worked. “Resilience is not created by a contingency plan. It is created by people who can act when that plan no longer works,”

It’s getting murky out there. AI-related debts and capital expenditure soaring; long-term yields at multi-decade highs; a (Nvidia) love affair that has its own ramifications… … as the headline-grabbing CEO exit raises questions about the future of AI – even though $4trn-market cap Nvidia is bigger than its co-founder, right? (Wrong?); and then there are a slew of other exogenous risks to manage, but it’s all fine out there if you listen to the bulls. (From !!! to ???) Until, in fact, moving away ...