Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the very first issue of Enterprise Logistics, your essential morning read on the MENA region’s dynamic logistics and supply chain industry.

The central role that the movement of goods play in our daily lives — and in the health of the global economy — was made concrete to just about every single one of us when covid-19 derailed global supply chains and threw into question the way companies (and nations) do business.

Crises like the Ever Given getting stuck in the Suez Canal for six days — which cost Egypt some USD 15 mn in foregone daily revenues and disrupted over USD 9 bn worth of global trade per day — underline the importance of the industry to the global economy.

We’re here to unpack key trends — from AI to green fuel, from ports and inland warehouses to last-mile delivery — and challenges facing an industry that cuts across almost every other sector. And what better place to do it than from the Middle East — home to some of the world’s largest ports as well as the Suez Canal, through which more than 30% of all global container traffic (and 12% of all global trade) passes?

Enterprise Logistics offers a daily roundup of news, analysis, and insight into the biggest stories from logistics players — from maritime shipping firms to port operators and cargo handlers — from around the Middle East and North African region, four days a week.

We’re delighted to be launching Enterprise Logistics in association with our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities, a leading investor in the sectors that are powering the new economies of Egypt, the Middle East, and beyond. Hassan Allam Utilities invests in sustainable infrastructure and clean energy, including logistics, mobility, renewable energy, water, and social infrastructure assets. You can learn more about the company, a unit of Hassan Allam Holding,on their website here.

Enterprise Logistics is published at 6:15am UAE / 5:15am KSA / 4:15am CLT Monday through Thursday by the same people who bring you Enterprise Egypt and Enterprise Climate.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY on this fine morning- Adnoc Logistics is providing Adnoc Offshore with logistics services under a USD 2.6 bn contract, as it unveils its integrated logistics platform from its base in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi.

^^ We have chapter and verse on this and plenty more in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Trucks can now book online to gain entry to Riyadh and Jeddah during restricted Ramadan hours, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The new system allows trucks to schedule their entries and routes through restricted areas via the Naqlcargo e-portal, helping reduce traffic during the unrestricted hours, according to the statement. Hourly restrictions on the movements of trucks vary depending on vehicle type. The full set of restrictions in Riyadh and Jeddah, which came into effect last Saturday, are spelled out here.

Syria’s port authority has closed down all of the country’s ports due to bad weather and high winds, according to state news agency SANA. Authorities had earlier exempted the key port of Tartous — on the Mediterranean coast — from the shutdown, but backtracked after weather conditions worsened. Oil terminals will remain open and are not affected by the decision.

The Saudi Port Authority (Mawani) is planning to reduce carbon emissions at Jeddah Islamic Port by c.1k tons by the end of this year, after putting in place measures to reduce the average movement of cranes and truck turnover at the port, according to a statement. Mawani plans to decrease the average movement of yard cranes by 33% and reduce truck turnover rates by 17% at the port, with plans to implement the same measures across all Saudi ports. Mawani’s green ports initiative aims to cut energy consumption at ports by 15%.

Storage fees at Fujairah’s oil hub jumped to record highs in 1Q 2023 on the back of an influx of Russian oil, Reuters reports, citing industry sources. Fees jumped to an all-time record of USD 12 per cubic meter during the first quarter of the year, the sources said. Restrictions on Western shippers and ins. providers for Russian energy exports have pushed traders to rout3 Russian crude shipments through Fujairah, leading to a sharp rise in the demand for storage space at the hub’s facilities.

DATA POINT-MENA’s e-commerce market value was worth USD 37 bn in 2022 and is forecasted to grow to USD 57 bn by 2026, according to a recent report (pdf) by EZDubai. Robust internet usage, the increasing popularity of online payments platforms, and a young tech-savvy population were among the drivers for the rise of e-commerce in the region, according to the report.

SOUND SMART- The UAE, KSA, and Israel alone accounted for 72.1% of e-commerce activity in our region, underlining how much room for growth there is across the rest of MENA.

STAY SMART- CINS publishesguidelines for the safe transport of lithium-ion batteries: The Cargo Incident Notification System Network(CINS) is out with guidelines (pdf) for the shipping and transport of lithium-ion batteries to help prevent risks like fires, explosions, and emissions of toxic gasses. The guidelines cover areas such as classification of batteries, regulation, quality compliance, container packing, stowage onboard ships, and incident detection and fire suppression. This publication is the first in a series of reports, and will be followed by three additional documents covering regulatory compliance checklists, risk assessment and emergency response, and training and educational awareness.

The global maritime shipping industry can save USD 50 bn a year and substantially reduce emissions, according to a recent report (pdf) by Copenhagen-based think tank Global Maritime Forum. The study — which is first in a regular series — outlines practices by which the maritime shipping industry can realize massive savings in fuel costs and cut annual emissions by upwards of 200 mn tons. The recommendations highlighted in the paper include speed optimization, improved data transparency and standardization, better legislative frameworks and contracts, and refined policies and regulations.

MARKET WATCH-

The Baltic Dry Index, the Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index (which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk goods) fell to a three-week low this week due to faltering demand across all types of vessels, Reutersreports. The overall index — which takes into account the rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels — fell around 3.7%, its lowest since 9 March. “The markets may be hit by a curveball, with the potential threat of a cut in China’s steel production looming,” Reuters cites shipbroker Allied as saying in a weekly report, adding that “such a development would mean a reduction of iron ore imports, leaving some large dry bulkers under utilized.”

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Breakbulk Middle East unveils its 2024 dates: The two-day conference will kick off on12-13 February 2024 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, bringing together over 2k companies from across the industrial supply chain and logistics and procurement decision makers.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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