Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the start of what’s looking like a busy week in the logistics world. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- PMI figures from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Egypt point to improvements in supply chains, despite declines in performance in certain areas.

HAPPENING TODAY-

A Suez Canal Authority tugboat sank in the canal on Saturday, killing one crew member, after it collided with Hong-Kong oil tanker Chinagas Legend, SCA boss Osama Rabie said during a phone-in on Egyptian TV (watch, runtime: 3:51). Six other crew members on the tugboat were rescued, Rabie said in a statement. Northbound traffic in the canal resumed shortly after the accident, while southbound traffic was never affected, said Rabie.

Ocean freight giant Maersk has downgraded its forecast for shipping containers volumes in 2023, according to its latest earnings release. The company had expected container volumes throughout the year to drop by 2.5% but now expects a decline closer to 4%, citing lagging demand, sluggish economic growth and destocking by retailers. Maersk saw its net income fall nearly 72% y-o-y to USD 2.9 bn in 2Q 2023, while its revenues for the quarter fell 40% y-o-y to settle at USD 13 bn.

Ukraine’s Danube port suffers damage following Russian strikes: Drone strikes have damaged Ukraine’s Port of Izmail, disrupting ships loading Ukrainian grain that were defying Russia’s mid-July de-facto blockade, Reuters reports. Nearly 40k tons of grain intended for Africa, China, and Israel were damaged, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. Kubrakov said the Danube ports' infrastructure had been “devastated,” adding that “Ukrainian grain is indispensable for the world and cannot be replaced by any other country in the coming years.”

Ukraine strikes back: Russian oil tanker Sig was struck by a Ukrainian maritime drone, hours after they targeted a Russian port in Novorossiysk, which handles the largest volume of cargo, causing damage to the vessel, CNN reports. While Ukrainian officials reported that the vessel carried oil for Russia’s military, Russia’s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport has denied that there was fuel on board, CNN writes. Ukraine has also been deploying new semi-submersible drones that can be launched at sea to target Russian vessels, CNN added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Russian logistics and transport company Fesco is looking to establish logistics centers in East Africa and Egypt, Sputnik reported last week, citing statements by Chairman Andrey Severilov. Severilov named Egypt as a prime location due to the size of its economy and geographical location, which can facilitate the movement of goods across the continent.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- The railway between the Iraqi cities of Baiji and Al Qaim is set to reopen soon, Iraqi News Agency(INA) reports. The line will transport oil derivatives between the Baji and Haditha refineries, Director General of Iraq’s General Railways Company Younis Al Kaabi said.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Iraq is looking to import high speed electric trains for its USD 17 bn Development Road project, state-owned Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Officials are eyeing the acquisition of 300 km / hour trains for the project’s railway component by 2028, a date that should coincide with the Development Road and Al-Faw Port being open for business, director of the General Rail Company Younis Al Kaabi told INA.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Commercial vessels passing through the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz may soon have US sailors and marines on board, amid alleged Iranian attempts over the past few months to hijack commercial ships, Reuters quotes two US officials as saying. The military has already been training its marines to man the vessels, one US official said, adding that the onus would be on commercial vessels to request their presence on the more dangerous parts of the route, the outlet added.

MEANWHILE- GCC and US officials discussed the importance of working together to “enhance maritime security” in the region and securing the smooth flow of trade, according to a statement. Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Al Budaiwi and Naval Forces Central Command boss Vice Adm Brad Cooperdiscussed working together, and with regional and international partners, to help reinforce maritime security, the statement added.

Iran has moved to equip its navy with sophisticated missile defense systems, drones, and equipment for electronic warfare in response to the US, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), IRNA reports. Iranian armed forces spokesperson Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said the region's countries were “capable of ensuring Persian Gulf security” themselves.

DATA POINT- Abu Dhabi International Airport handled 259.5k tonnes of air freight in 1H 2023, with cargo figures expected to gain momentum throughout the year, according to a press release.The airport also expanded its network with 114 new destinations served by 27 airlines in this period, and recorded a 35% y-o-y increase to the number of flights to 67.8k, according to the statement. The airport expects to emerge as a leading air cargo and logistics hub by forging new strategic partnerships, COO Frank McCrorie added.

MARKET WATCH-

OPEC+ stays the course on supply cuts as oil markets rally: The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) decided to leave the cartel’s reduced output policy unchanged at its meeting on Friday, according to a statement. The new resolve to stay the course comes in the wake of a rally in oil prices following Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend a voluntary 1 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) cut to production to September. Russia also announced a voluntary 300k bbl / d cut beginning in September, Reuters reported separately. The latest bout of cuts saw oil prices approach USD 86 / bbl, their highest since mid-April, the newswire wrote.

Booming US crude exports are crowding out Middle Eastern oil in Asian markets: US crude grade WTI Midland is putting pressure on Middle Eastern crude markets in Asia with the grade’s prices — lower than Middle Eastern crude — and low freight rates making it attractive to refiners, John Evans of brokerage PVM Oil told Reuters. The UAE’s flagship Murban crude saw its price kept in check in July due to a surge in demand for WTI, a Singapore-based oil trader told the newswire. The trend is set to continue with a “near-record” volume of WTI slated to be shipped to Asian markets in August.Rising US crude exports are driving down oil prices in Europe too as they provide alternatives to OPEC+ cuts and sanctioned Russian oil, Reuters explained.

The Baltic Dry Index’s main sea freight index (BADI) rose 0.7% last week, its second consecutive weekly increase due to strong demand in the panamax vessel category, Reuters reports. The Baltic Exchange’s overall index, which considers rates for different shipping vessel types, including capesize, panamax, and supramax, climbed 0.7% during the week. The panamax index rose 16.2%, its best week since 3 March, while the capesize index experienced a 0.7% w-o-w decline.

Drewry's World Container Index rose 11.8% last week, but remained down 73.4% y-o-y, according to the 3 August index assessment. After a consistent rise over the past four weeks, last week's composite index reached its highest level since the second week of May 2023. The index remains 34% below its 10-year average, but is 24% higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 average.

Global shipping costs have risen after a 16-month decline, as indicated by the Drewry World Container Index 11.8% rise last week, Bloomberg reports. The rise marks the largest weekly gain since June 2021. The pandemic initially led to record-high shipping rates, driven by heightened demand and logistics disruptions. However, costs have now rebounded to pre-pandemic levels due to excess inventories and reduced consumer spending. While some carriers anticipate improved trade dynamics, others express concern over certain trade lanes' challenges.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

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

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST-

MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? The EnterprisePodcast has you covered: The Enterprise Podcast’s forum series has been bringing you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May. Throughout, we learned lessons from some of Egypt’s biggest exporters on how Egypt can export its way out of a crisis. We heard everything from how to build an exports and FDI strategy, to identifying a foreign partner and tapping into a global supply chain.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Anghami | Omny.

IT’S THE FINAL EPISODE- Our final panel of the day was, naturally, the most forward looking. Our panelists discussed how the companies — be they in age-old industries or emerging ones — have adapted to changes to better position their businesses for an uncertain future. We were joined by Nadia El Tawil, investment officer at pan-African private equity firm AfricInvest, Mostafa Bedair, CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs, and Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr.

OUR FORUM SERIES CONTINUES NEXT SUNDAY WITH THE ENTERPRISE CLIMATE FORUM- Fresh off the heels of a successful COP27, we held our first forum to dive deep into the fundamentals of what we think is the world’s most important industry. The conversations ranged from exploring the business opportunities for Egyptian entrepreneurs, companies and startups in climate, to demystifying green hydrogen, and how we finance our green transition. And we did it all in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Agriculture Horticulture Development Board will host a trade mission of five exporters to Kuwait from 25-27 September, to explore potential export possibilities and new business avenues for red meat and dairy in the local and Middle Eastern market.

The Arab League Workshop will take place from 7-8 August 2023 at the maritime simulation and training center in Ismailia, according to a statement.The event will see discussions on the study of an Arab mechanism to strengthen shipbuilding, repair, and construction, and will bring together high-level delegations from participating Arab countries and key figures from the Arab maritime transport sector. The event was organized by the Suez Canal Authority, the Arab League, and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport.

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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