Good morning, friends, and welcome to Enterprise Logistics’ 100th issue. It’s been an absolute pleasure writing for you, folks — thank you for reading our coverage and analysis of the biggest stories from the logistics industry across the region and beyond.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Purchasing manager indices tracking non-energy sectors show improvements in business activity and purchasing in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while Egypt’s remained in contraction as its backlogs rose to a new record.

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Adnoc becomes the first company in the region to receive ISCC certification to produce SAF: Adnoc’s Ruwais Refinery has received an International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC) to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to a press release. The credential will enable Adnoc to provide SAF to airliners at Abu Dhabi Airport, with the first batch set for delivery later this month. SAF at Ruwaisl is produced from used cooking oil feedstock that is blended with jet fuel, the statement adds. The certification makes Adnoc “well-placed” to meet global and domestic demand for biofuels, CEO of Adnoc Global Trading Ahmad Bin Thalith said in the press release.

SPEAKING OF SAF- Aviation leaders cite cost + scalability hurdles to achieving climate goals: Ambitious plans that had highlighted SAF as a pathway to carbon neutrality in aviation are giving way to a more somber outlook as industry leaders come to terms with the huge resources required to produce sufficient quantities of SAF in a sector that is contending with “razor-thin” margins, Bloomberg reported. Executives meeting for the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon last week saw calls for more realistic objectives. “If you hold out that things can be achieved by such and such a time, it causes huge dysfunctionality,” Emirates President Tim Clark said in reference to 2050 goals, according to statements cited by Bloomberg.

Discussions spill over into this week’s IATA World Sustainability Symposium (WSS) : The forum — hosted in Madrid, Spain and wrapping today — will see industry and government officials meet to discuss “key enablers for aviation’s successful decarbonization,” according to the event’s website. The WSS’ agenda will include discussions on an overall strategy to achieve 2050 goals, means for financing the transition, regulatory support, and other issues.

The fourth Extraordinary Congress of the Universal PostalUnion (UPU) kicked off on Sunday in Riyadh and will run till Thursday, Saudi press agency SPA reported. Representatives from 192 countries are expected to attend the event, which is held under the co-chairmanship of the Saudi Postal Corporation, and will discuss the impact of UPU decisions on the postal and logistics sector and how to keep pace with technological developments and address challenges. It will also touch on how to build a postal system that promotes economic and social development.

A delegation of Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce led by Mohammed Jassim Al Saqr landed in Canada earlier this week for a joint economic forum, and will stay till Thursday, Kuwait’s Al Anba reports. The forum will review avenues for cooperation and investment in several sectors including oil and gas, transportation, logistics, AI and innovation, banking and finance, among others. The Kuwaiti delegation will include several members of the chamber of commerce, representatives from government agencies and Kuwaiti companies.

Air cargo demand in August improved 1.5% y-o-y, marking its first growth in 19 months, IATA said in a statement. Air cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), was up 12.2% y-o-y on the back of a 30% y-o-y increase in belly capacity, the statement said.

Middle Eastern airlines tracked the global trend with a 1.4% y-o-y increase in cargo volumes in August, continuing an upwards trend over the past quarter. Meanwhile, regional carriers boosted capacity by 15.7% y-o-y, the statement said.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Exports via Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline may restart sometime this week: An oil pipeline from Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan may see flows restart very soon after having been closed since March due to an arbitration ruling that required Turkey to pay USD 1.5 bn in damages to Iraq, Reuters reported. “Within this week, we will start operating the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after resuming operations. It will be able to supply half a mn barrels, almost, to global oil markets,” Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in statements carried by the newswire. The two sides will wait until a maintenance assessment on the pipeline is completed before resuming flows, the newswire reported.

Baghdad and Ankara are still quarreling over the terms of the arbitration ruling: The ruling ordered Turkey to shell out USD 1.5 bn in damages to Iraq, but Turkey is pushing to have the fine reduced and to renegotiate the pipeline agreement, which expires in 2025, S&P Global reported.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Hungary is lining up the sale of “non-strategic assets” to finance its plans to buy Budapest airport, Reuters reported, citing statements by Hungary’s Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy. Hungary has been trying to buy the airport for years, and submitted a formal bid last month. The Hungarian official did not specify which government assets were on the chopping block.

REMEMBER- The government is in talks with several airport operators, one of which is in Qatar, to come on board as a minority partner.

Red tape could hold back plans to expand Kuwait’s airport: Despite allocating KWD 1.02 bn (USD 3.36 bn) to public projects in its 2023-2024 budget, which went into effect on 1 April, Kuwait has only spent KWD 108 mn (USD 356 mn) in the first half of the fiscal year, Kuwaiti daily Alqabas reported, citing government figures. The amount spent so far represents only 10% of the funds allocated for the purpose and risks a repeat of last year when only 50% of funds earmarked for projects were spent, the report said. This could potentially push back plans to expand Kuwait’s international airport, which is included in the year’s budget and plans.

ICYMI- The expansion includes establishing terminal 2, which will have the capacity to handle 13 mn passengers a year and will cost some KWD 1.3 bn, according to Gulf Consult.

What red tape? Delayed contractual procedures, late approvals by authorities, and legal problems have been cited as hurdles holding back spending on projects.

MARKET WATCH- US LNG exports see a moderate drop in September due to plant outages: The US exported 7.12 mn tons of natural gas in September, down from August’s 7.32 mn tons, Reuters reported, citing LSEG vessel tracking data. Plant outages due to maintenance at the country’s largest LNG plants were behind the reduced shipments, the newswire said.

Export destinations are more or less the same: 52% of exports were shipped to Europe, as the region continues to substitute US imports for Russian energy, and 30% went to Asia, with both proportions roughly in line with the previous month, Reuters wrote. Exports to Latin America increased to 8%, up from August’s 7%, on the back of greater purchases by Colombia.

Freight rates have dropped significantly for shipping through Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor, which allows cargo vessels to carry Ukrainian grain and iron ore from Black Sea ports, and they are likely to fall further, Reuters quoted Ukraine’s Farm Minister Mykola Solsky as saying. “I think freight has become 30-40% cheaper in the last 2-3 weeks. It is still expensive, but it is much cheaper than it was,” Solsky said.

China wants to get involved in the Arctic — and Russia is finally letting it: Although China gaining a foothold in the Arctic has long been impeded by Russia, Moscow is now turning to China to provide support in developing the Arctic as Western energy companies pull out of Russian projects, the Wall Street Journal reports. Their cooperation is mostly reflected in surging shipments of crude oil through the Northern Sea Route, with August and September alone seeing 10 shipments between the two countries.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The 20th edition of Automechanika Dubai is set to take place on 2-4 October in Dubai World Trade Center. The event functions as a trading hub for automotive players in regions facing accessibility challenges, including the MENA region, Asia and CIS nations. More than 1k exhibitors from over 53 countries will attend the event, with almost 43k trade visitors from 145 countries joining.

The Total Freight Worldwide’s Fresh Summit 2023 will take place in Madrid, Spain on 4 October, where participants will discuss the latest trends in transportation of perishable cargo.

A Saudi-Turkish Summit is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey on 8-12 October. Organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly in coordination with the Turkish Commerce Ministry, the summit will be attended by Turkish exporters and 70 members of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. The participants will also include representatives from an array of sectors including food, non-ferrous metals, textiles, ready-made garments, chemicals, and furniture.

The GCC-Türkiye Economic Forum is set to take place on 11-13 November in Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey. The event will cover trade, investment and finance, energy, infrastructure, transportation and logistics, industry, tourism, agriculture and food, and sports sectors.

Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit , organized by the International Chamber of Shipping, will take place on 9 December in the UAE. The event will bring together government officials and leaders in energy, maritime, and all parts of the supply chain to discuss plans to address climate change and help transition the industry towards sustainability.

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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