Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

Poland’s rapid emergence as one of Europe’s largest logistics hubs is cementing its position as a key gateway for international ecommerce, according to LOT Polish Airlines cargo director Michał Grochowski. While Chinese online retailers have dominated headlines in recent years, Mr Grochowski argues Poland’s appeal extends far beyond consumer demand, with investment in warehousing and logistics infrastructure attracting global ecommerce players from multiple markets. “Poland is very, very important on the European map today,” he toldThe Loadstar. “It’s not only because of the consumption.” Instead, he said, Poland’s strength lay in its logistics ecosystem. “We have extremely good education for logistics, but it’s very specified logistics, warehousing logistics,” he explained. “Anyone who does business locally, and ecommerce is one of them, can find big support, with infrastructure for distribution and all these things around.” As a result, he believes Poland has become a more attractive location for fulfilment operations than some of Western Europe’s traditional logistics centres. “Poland is much more welcome for them than, for example, Germany,” he said. “Poland is probably the biggest warehouse facility in Europe today.” Indeed, a recent Maersk report on changing supply chains suggested efforts to “reduce geopolitical exposure” were influencing where production happens. “Companies and governments are reassessing the risks of highly concentrated global supply chains, which may accelerate regional production and nearshoring,” it said. “Central and Eastern European countries could attract increased manufacturing and infrastructure investment due to proximity, political stability and EU integration, following the emergence of Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt as nearshoring centres in recent years.” The Danish carrier added that investment in transport and logistics infrastructure along NATO’s Eastern flank may strengthen connectivity across Europe. It noted that, in the longer-term, the reconstruction of Ukraine could further stimulate infrastructure development and industrial activity across the region, “creating new logistics corridors and production hubs”. Mr Grochowski explained that, contrary to the common perception that cross-border ecommerce is driven almost exclusively by Chinese marketplaces, some of the LOT’s strongest growth came from other regions. “We have extremely good ecommerce from Korea, surprisingly from the United States, and also from Canada.” He added that while low-value Chinese goods continued to generate substantial volumes across Europe, many international shipments carried by LOT consisted of higher-value consumer products, “textiles, shoes, things like this”, he said. Meanwhile, Polish intermodal operator, and part of PSA International,Loconi Intermodal todayannounceda new intermodal terminal in Zbąszynek, expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2028. The facility will be equipped with four handling tracks, a storage yard with a capacity of 4,500 teu, and low-emission equipment, including two electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes. “The investment in Zbąszynek reflects both the sustained growth in maritime cargo flows through Polish ports and the increasing importance of efficient hinterland connections,” said Niels Jakobsgaard Andersen, CEO of Loconi Intermodal. “This new intermodal terminal will strengthen our ability to manage rising volumes, enhance cross-border connectivity… and support customers’ transition to a more sustainable and reliable supply chain solution,” he added. The company noted that this would enable “more flexible freight flows” across Central and Eastern Europe while easing congestion on critical routes.

When DSV revealed it was developing its own technology platform and moving away from CargoWise, many in the freight forwarding industry assumed the move was only possible for the world’s largest forwarder. But according to Kristjan Lillemets, who was chief product officer at Magaya at the time of this interview, DSV’s decision has had a far wider impact than simply prompting speculation over whether more companies might build their own transport management systems. Instead, it has fundamentally changed the questions freight forwarders are asking. “The idea ‘can I take what I consider my secret sauce and do that part myself?’… that’s the chatter we’ve been hearing recently,” Mr Lillemets toldThe Loadstar. Rather than asking whether they should replace their core software altogether, forwarders increasingly want to decide which parts of their business should remain unique and which should continue to be handled by established software providers. “I think everybody is considering moving to more of a combination of ‘I buy the core pieces, but I do want the flexibility to build around it’,” he said. The shift has accelerated as AI develops at extraordinary speed. But while much of the industry’s attention has focused on new AI models and eye-catching demonstrations, Mr Lillemets believes many companies are concentrating on the wrong challenge. “I think the forwarder market and the forwarder software market still has no idea what’s happening with AI,” he said. “The understanding of what was possible nine months ago would be severely outdated today.” That does not mean forwarders should rush to build everything themselves. In fact, Mr Lillemets believes the opposite. “We haven’t seen customers… considering leaving us for an in-house built solution,” he said. “What it has sped up is customers asking ‘I want you to manage our data, I want you to manage our core workflows… but let us build around it’.” The traditional “build versus buy” debate, he argues, is becoming obsolete. Forwarders still need robust systems of record to manage shipments, customs, finance, and compliance. What they increasingly want is the freedom to develop their own AI-driven workflows, integrations, and customer experiences on top of those foundations. “The foundational systems at the bottom still need to be solid,” he said. “The tip of the iceberg is what we see customers build.” The approach appears to be resonating. Following WiseTech’s introduction of CargoWise Value Packs, Magaya has seen increased interest from the market. “We’ve definitely seen more inbound [requests],” said Mr Lillemets. “I think reliability and predictability in a software partner is critical. “It’s not that charging for value is wrong as a concept… but it’s also about execution of these kinds of changes, treating your customers as partners, treating them with respect.” He added: “We’ve seen increased interest since December. Maybe it’s a coincidence.” Yet Mr Lillemets believes the industry’s next challenge will have little to do with software licensing. Instead, it will be deciding how to deploy AI economically. Today’s demonstrations often rely on the largest and most capable language models, but he believes many companies have yet to consider whether that approach is commercially sustainable. “If we all keep using the frontier models for everything, then I think that’s where the ROI question… is going to present itself in a pretty obvious and painful way soon.” In future, software providers and freight forwarders alike will need to decide which tasks genuinely require the most advanced models and which can be handled by smaller, cheaper, or locally deployed alternatives. “It’s all about finding the right capability for the job.” The first applications are already becoming obvious. “If somebody is still looking at a paper or a PDF and punching fields into a form, that is going away.” But eliminating manual data entry is only the beginning. Mr Lillemets believes the greatest gains will come from helping operators decide what deserves their attention each day: identifying risks, recommending actions, highlighting exceptions, and drawing on far more information than any individual could process manually. “We need to be able to dramatically increase… the recommendations of what you should do.” That view is echoed by Australian freight forwarder Neolink, another company investing heavily in automation and AI. Director Sean Crook recently toldThe Loadstarthat, despite the excitement surrounding generative AI, traditional automation had so far delivered the greatest operational benefits. “Automation, to be honest, has probably been even bigger for us than AI,” he said. For Mr Lillemets, the industry’s biggest challenge may ultimately prove to be neither technology nor cost. As AI removes more repetitive work, customers are telling Magaya they are making operators more productive, rather than replacing them. “What they quote is not that ‘I’ve been able to reduce headcount’, but that ‘my operators now are this much more productive’.” The more difficult question is what happens next. If AI increasingly performs the routine tasks that have traditionally taught new recruits the fundamentals of freight forwarding, how does the industry develop the next generation of operators? Indeed, Mr Lillemets pointed to a concern recently raised by logistics adviser Wolfgang Lehmacher: “How is the next generation supposed to learn?” It is a question that may ultimately prove more significant than whether forwarders build or buy their next piece of software.

Containerships hitting the water this week have mostly gone to Far East-Mediterranean and Far East-Indian Subcontinent routes – a sign offirmingcargo volumes and freight rates on these trades. According to Alphaliner, CSSC (Tianjin) Shipbuilding last week delivered the 16,136 teuCMA CGM Cyranoto the French carrier, the third delivery of six sister methanol dual-fuelled vessels commissioned in February 2023 for around $175m each. CMA CGM has deployedCyranoto its Far East-East Mediterranean loop, the BEX2 (aka Phoenician Express), where it joins both its sisters, the rest of which will be completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Taiwan operator Wan Hai Lines continues to build on its standalone Far East-Mediterranean service FM1, sending the newly built 8,710 teuWan Hai 902to the route after its delivery from HD Hyundai Samho. Wan Hai 902is the second of four conventionally powered ships ordered in September 2024 for $127m each, and was delivered on 11 June, all the others will be completed by 2027. Launched last September, the FM1 marked Wan Hai’s return to the Far East-Mediterranean route after 16 years, andWan Hai 902will be the 11thship on the service. The deployment of the ywo new box ships on the FM1 represents an upsizing, as the service was initially run with 4,300-5,000 teu ships. Wan Hai’s privately owned associate, Interasia Lines, has been expanding into the China-India lane, and this week took delivery of the 7,092 teuInterasia Ambitionfrom Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. It will be assigned to Interasia’s China-India ICI service operated with RCL and Wan Hai. This also represents a vessel upsizing, as it replaces the 4,890 teuInterasia Inspirationon the loop currently run with 3,000-7,000 teu ships. To meet high demand on the China-India trade, Maersk Line has deployed the 5,915 teuMaersk Ferrato, lately arrived from Tsuneishi Zhoushan, to fulfil an extra sailing. It’s one of four ships Japanese tonnage provider Nissen Kaiun commissioned in March 2023 for long-term charter to the Danish carrier. Only one newbuilding delivery this week is for the Far East-North Europe trade: Yang Ming took delivery of the 15,500 teuYM Wayfinderfrom HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. One of five sister units ordered in 2024,YM Wayfinder(pictured above) will be deployed to the Premier Alliance’s FE3 service, operated with MSC. Due to only a few ultra-large ships being ordered in 2023-2024, not many newbuildings have been assigned to the Far East-North Europe lanes.

As opposition mounts against Hapag-Lloyd’s (HL) $4.2bn takeover of Zim’s international shipping business, could the Israeli government be about to scupper the deal? Its share price movement – or lack thereof in the mid-$20 area; at a steep near-30% discount against HL’s $35/share cash offer – clearly indicates that the transaction continues to hang in the balance. As we know… Hapag-Lloyd and the Israeli investment fund FIMI’s joint offer would carve up Zim – with the German carrier taking on its international business ...

Whether Expeditors is being prepped for takeover or not, we hear structural corporate changes are surely taking place – apart from (or because of?!) targeted layoffs that so far have been disclosed in its tech department. Incidentally