Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

Air cargo rates climbed 36% year on year in May as conflict in the Middle East continued to disrupt global supply chains, according to data provider WorldACD. Presenting at TIACA’s Executive Summit in Warsaw today (2 June), WorldACD CEO Ken De Witt Hamer said the market had experienced a sharp shift since early March, when geopolitical tensions escalated across the Gulf region. While air cargo demand has remained resilient, the disruption has pushed rates higher, as airlines reroute aircraft, redistribute capacity and force supply chains to adjust to changing network conditions. WorldACD data shows worldwide rates were down 2% year on year in January before rising 5% in February. Following the outbreak of conflict, in March rates increased 12%, accelerating to 30% in April and 36% in May. The company estimated that global air cargo revenues had increased 16% year to date, combining a 12% rise in rates with 4% growth in volumes. And, despite the disruption, cargo volumes have proved remarkably resilient. WorldACD reported that inbound cargo volumes to the Gulf, which fell by around 60% immediately after the conflict escalated, had returned to year-earlier levels during May. In May, the level had been the same as May 2025, Mr De Witt Hamer told delegates. The effect on pricing has been particularly pronounced on certain tradelanes. WorldACD highlighted Amsterdam-Dubai, Hong Kong-Riyadh and Mumbai-London as examples of where rates have risen dramatically since the start of the year. On some routes, rates have nearly doubled, while Amsterdam-Dubai recorded increases approaching 200%. “To put that rate into perspective, the average rate in May this year was $3.23. The peak in our historic data back to 2008 was during Covid in December 2021, where the average global rates were at $4.43, so we are now around 30% below the peak we have seen in the past, and who knows what the rest of the year will bring,” said Mr De Witt Hamer. He also warned that “volatility” was becoming as significant a challenge as rising prices. Data presented in Warsaw showed that the spread between low and high market rates had widened substantially on several routes, making it increasingly difficult for airlines, forwarders, and shippers to assess prevailing market conditions. Despite the market turbulence, WorldACD’s latest forecast points to continued growth for the sector. The company expects global air cargo demand to increase 2.3% this year, although it acknowledged that the continuing geopolitical uncertainty could alter the outlook. “Whether we like it or not, our world, as we all know, has really changed in a few weeks and months,” Mr De Witt Hamer told delegates. “So many different factors at play, the geopolitical situation is very demanding, of course, which, of course, has an impact on the whole air cargo industry.”

Israeli carrier Zim has appointed Chen Lichtenstein (above) as its new president and CEO, to replace Eli Glickman. Mr Glickmanresignedon 15 April, and Dr Lichtenstein will take up the role on 1 July, providing his appointment is approved by shareholders. His appointment followed an executive search process conducted by chairman Yair Seroussi and directors Yoram Turbowicz and Yair Avidan in the wake of Mr Glickman’s departure. “Chen Lichtenstein is a highly experienced top-tier international executive, with a unique combination of extensive managerial experience, financial depth, strategic insight, and the ability to lead complex global organisations,” said Mr Seroussi. “His broad experience in managing international companies, working with global markets, shareholders, and boards of directors, together with his judgment and experience in leading transformation and integration processes, make him the right executive to lead Zim at this time. “We thank Eli Glickman for his significant contribution to the company and wish Chen great success in his role,” he added. Dr Lichtenstein began his career as a senior banking executive with Goldman Sachs in New York in 1999. From 2006 to 2013 he served in a variety of senior management roles at Makhteshim Agan Industries, “where he led, among other things, broad areas of activity including global operations, business development, integration in China, R&D, supply chain, purchasing and manufacturing”, and stayed with the company as president and CEO after it had been renamed Adama. From 2020 to 2023, he served as CFO at agricultural technology company Syngenta. “I thank Zim’s board of directors for its confidence and for the opportunity to lead a global Israeli company with a meaningful legacy, growth and business success, broad international operations, and outstanding people,” Dr Lichtenstein said. “Zom operates in a dynamic, competitive, and complex market, and I attach great importance to maintaining the company’s stability, strengthening its performance and business capabilities, and continuing to create value for customers, employees, partners, and shareholders,” he added.

A BYD car-carrier has made its first voyage from China to Australia, as the electric vehicle (EV) maker appears to be challenging Japan’s Toyota’s ranking as the best-selling car brand in the country. The 2025-built 7,000-ceuBYD Zhengzhouarrived in Melbourne on Sunday, carrying 5,000 hybrid and pure EVs. Following the outbreak of the US-Israel conflict against Iran in February, fuel prices rocketed in Australia, causing car owners to complain. It appears BYD took the opportunity to market its EVs there. BYD Australia COO Stephen Collins said having its own fleet enabled BYD to respond quickly to customers’ needs, adding that its vertically integrated business model “facilitated expanding production on demand”. Several Chinese carmakers created their own car-carrier fleets to move their vehicles since demand rebounded following Covid, amid under-investment in the vessels by traditional tonnage providers. BYD now has seven, enabling the company to deliver vehicles to any destination worldwide at any time. Between May and June, BYD expects to ship 30,000 cars to Australia. Liu Xueliang, BYD’s Asia-Pacific GM, said in April that the US/Israel-Iran war had “fundamentally altered people’s attitudes towards energy supply”, expediting demand for EVs. In comparison though, last year Toyota sold nearly 240,000 cars in Australia, making it the only manufacturer to sell in excess of 200,000 units in the country. But BYD aims to catch up, selling an all-time high of 7,702 cars there in April, second only to Toyota’s 15,185 sales. But the Japanese giant is not about to ease up and let BYD overtake, announcing today that it will produce 10,000 more vehicles for Australia, and setting a higher full-year sales forecast for this year. Toyota has also organised an earlier launch there of its first plug-in hybrid, the Rav4 PHEV.

Brazilian forwarders are dealing with yet more uncertainty after US regulators proposed slapping its southern neighbour with a 25% tariff, claiming it had been engaging in “multiple practices” that “are unreasonable, and burden or restrict US commerce”. Among these alleged practices, according to US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, are anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access, and illegal deforestation. AGL Cargo’s Jackson Campos said the decision represented an “important shift in the US’ strategy”, noting that unlike previous political measures it focused on trade barriers, intellectual property, digital services, and market access. “The most relevant point for Brazil is that several strategic products are excluded, including beef, coffee, critical minerals, and aerospace components, reducing the immediate impact on some of its main export categories,” Mr Campos toldThe Loadstar. “Even so, it increases uncertainty for companies exporting to the US. Depending on the final tariff, industrial sectors may face reduced competitiveness and higher costs to access the US market.” The USTR’s position remains a proposal and subject to further review, with a consultation process required before a final decision is made, but forwarders said it reinforced the period of adjustment and negotiation in Brazil-US trade relations. And it follows a strained relationship between President Donald Trump and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, resulting from the former’s decision to slap a 50% tariff on Brazil in retaliation for the prosecution of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro. However, the US Supreme Court ruled against the imposition of the 50% levy, back in February, as part of its wide-ranging block on the Trump administration’s sweeping tariff policy, with the rate capped at 10%. Despite “several constructive meetings”, President Trump directed the USTR to investigate Brazil as a Section 301, addressing unfair foreign practices affecting US commerce and allowing the imposition of tariffs for unreasonable or discriminatory acts. “I launched this Section 301 investigation at President Trump’s direction to address longstanding and pervasive US concerns with certain of Brazil’s trade policies and practices,” said Mr Greer; the USTR will hold a hearing on the action on 6 July. “We continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues identified in this investigation. I look forward to continuing engagement with the Brazilian government in advance of the 15 July statutory deadline for taking responsive action.”

MSC has confirmed that one of its vessels, the 4,800 teuMSC Sariska V, was hit by two “projectiles” last night, some 40 nautical miles south-east of the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. “The first hit while the pilot was on board as the vessel departed from port, and a second impacted the crew area soon afterwards,” the carrier said. According to the UKMTO incident reporting centre, the second missile caused a fire on the ship which was extinguished by the crew. “All crew members are safe, unharmed, and acted with exceptional professionalism throughout the incident to secure the vessel and its cargo,” MSC added. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was in response to a US attack on the Gambia-flagged bulk carrierLion Star,which was en route to Iran. It further claimed theMSC Sariska Vwas owned by “an American-Israeli” firm. “This retaliatory action is completely unjustified, since MSC is a neutral commercial carrier with no affiliation to the United States or Israel,” said MSC, insisting that the Panama-flagged vessel is under its ownership. “Founded by Italian national Capt Gianluigi Aponte, the company is headquartered and domiciled in Switzerland and is wholly owned by his children, Diego and Alexa Aponte, both Italian nationals with no other citizenship. “MSC is deeply concerned by these unprovoked attacks and the risk they create for its innocent seafarers and essential maritime trade in the region,” the world’s largest container shipping line said. According to the eeSea liner database,MSC Sariska Vhad been deployed on MSC’s Gulf Shuttle feeder service before the outbreak of the conflict and has been trapped behind the Hormuz strait since. The attack could force other carriers to rethink their Hormuz bypass strategies, given it took place deep inside the Gulf rather than as a response to an attempted Hormuz transit. The trucking landbridge option from Jeddah to the Gulf appears to be increasingly difficult to maintain, given the capacity constraints – in recent days Gemini partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have separately notified customers that they would no longer accept UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq bookings through Jeddah. While imports to Saudi destinations such as Jubail and Dammam would continue to be routed through Jeddah, imports for other Gulf countries will go via Khor Fakkan, then be trucked to Dubai and Sharjah, and then be loaded onto feeder vessels for onward transport to the Upper Gulf.

Foggy weather at China’s key container ports of Shanghai and Ningbo has worsened the congestion, pushing up waiting times for ships just as exporters are rushing to send their goods to Europe and the US. Linerlytica’s report this week estimates 1.5 million teu of shipping capacity is being held up in North Asian ports. China’s National Meteorological Centre claimed dense fog gave visibility of less than 1km in the Bohai Sea, most of the Yellow Sea, north-western East China Sea, Yangtze river estuary, Hangzhou Bay and the Zhoushan. Supply chain consultant PSA BDP, part of terminal operator PSA International, confirmed that since 27 March, heavy fog had blanketed Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta area. It added: “Ocean-going sailing schedules have been affected, with vessel arrivals and departures occurring off-schedule. It has been reported that the average delays for ships arriving at the Waigaoqiao terminal is three to seven days, and two to three days at the Yangshan terminal.” And Linerlytica noted: “These delays coincided with a surge in demand for European cargo, with shippers bringing forward their usual peak season shipments, causing a sharp spike in freight rates. The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) rates to North Europe surged 30.8% to reach a new 18-month high.” On Friday, the SCFI showed a 30% gain (from 22 May) in the Shanghai-North Europe rate, to $2,475 per teu. Per 40ft, the rise was 30.8%, to $4,175. Encouraged by successful peak season surcharges last month, mainline operators are pushing for a further mid-June rate hike, with announced FAK prices lifted to $6,000 per 40ft. The SCFI also showed a jump in transpacific rates, with the Shanghai-US West Coast rate increasing nearly 32%, to $4,149 per 40ft and the Shanghai-US East Coast rate up 24%, to $5,333 per 40ft. Transpacific demand remains very firm, with Chinese exports to the US rebounding strongly due to the removal of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs that have been replaced by the lower Section 122 blanket tariffs. US president Donald Trump initially imposed tariffs on all imports, under the IEEPA, which had no cap. In February, the US Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs as unlawful. The Trump administration then imposed tariffs under Section 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974 that capped tariffs at 15% and could only be enforced for 150 days. Under Section 122, these tariffs expire on 24 July, prompting Asian exporters to ship out their goods before the regime changes again.

As June begins with most freight forwarders looking to make up for previous weakness during the second quarter, the financial performance that Ceva Logistics has delivered so far in Q2 26, quite simply “commanded action”, sources tell Premium. (After a dreadful Q1 26 delivery, as recently disclosed) And a U-turn in strategy, we hear, is leading to significant changes in the way the management team will look in the near future. Welcome back We have consensus on a few key matters. To start with, sources ...