Good morning, wonderful people. We have a packed issue for you this morning, as airline chiefs gather in Dubai for the annual Dubai Air Show and disruptions continue to hit ports and borders across the world.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- DP World is reportedly in talks over an acquisition of Hong-Kong-based logistics firm Cargo Services Far East, which could potentially value the latter firm at USD 800 mn.

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

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION-Some 20k trucks have been stuck on the Ukraine-Poland border amid Polish truckers’ protests calling for an end to competition from Ukrainian drivers, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a statement on Thursday. The protests have blocked three border crossings to all freight except military cargo since last Monday, and Kubrakov says the blockage has already begun to affect the economies of Ukraine and the EU.

The problem: Polish drivers are calling on the EU to reimpose transport quotas on the number of Ukrainian trucks that can enter Poland and the rest of the EU, after Ukraine began using Poland as an alternative trade route following Russia’s invasion and the country’s de facto blockade of its Black Sea ports. The protestors also say Ukrainian truckers are unlawfully loading goods in Poland and other places before returning to Ukraine.

The story has been getting a lot of ink in the press:Financial Times | NYT | CNN | Euronews.

ALSO HAPPENING IN UKRAINE-A russian missile hit a Liberian-flagged 91.8k dwt bulk carrier entering the Ukrainian port of Yuzhnylast week, killing the pilot and injuring three crewmembers and a dockworker, Splash news reported. The bulk carrier, Kmax Ruler,was due to take cargo of iron ore from Ukraine to China.

OVER IN AUSTRALIA- DP World Australia halted port operations in several states on Sunday due to a “serious” cybersecurity incident, Reuters reports. Operations have been suspended at container terminals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Western Australia’s Fremantle since Friday, though the company reportedly said yesterday that it has made “significant progress” in re-establishing operations. The company reportedly has not received a ransom demand and does not know the origins of the hacker.

There are some 30k containers currently stranded at DP World’s terminals, with truck access to terminals also suspended due to systems being offline, Bloomberg reports. “The cyber incident at DP World is serious and ongoing,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said on X (formerly Twitter). The interruption will likely continue for a few days and will “impact the movement of goods into and out of the country,” National Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie said.

The attack was one of a string of cyberattacks that took place over the past week, affecting the world’s biggest bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, and Boeing.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Iraqi Airways has resumed direct flights between Iraq and Germany, with flights traveling from Baghdad and Erbil to Berlin, according to a transport ministry statement. Berlin is one of five destinations to Europe to which the airline has resumed direct flights — Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Copenhagen — with seven flights per week, according to the statement. This follows indications in October that the EU bloc has lifted the ban it had placed on the airline since 2015 due to safety concerns.

The Dubai Airshow will kick off today and run until Friday at DWC, at the Dubai Air Show site, in Dubai. The event will also gather decision makers to discuss the latest trends and challenges across the aviation industry, and how to drive sustainable aviation operations. The industry event is taking place against the backdrop of heightened regional tensions and violence, amid Israel’s current war on Gaza.

The war is leading to airspace closures and elongating flights, making them more expensive, Reuters reports. Despite the disruptions of airspace in the region, regional airlines are expected to secure new aircraft acquisition agreements at the industry event, including Emirates and flydubai, both of which are eyeing Boeing aircraft, Gulf News reports.

Saudi airline Riyadh Air could make one of the biggest buys during the event: The airline is set to order as many as 100 Boeing 737 Max jets as it adds short-haul jets to its fleet, Bloomberg reports,citing people in know. The carrier is considering ordering 50 jets along with a similar number of options as early as the Dubai Air Show, which launches today. The final discussions are ongoing and the number of aircraft could change, the sources added. Last week, the carrier’s CEO Tony Douglas said that the new airline will announce a “sizable” agreement to purchase narrowbody aircraft in the coming weeks.

REMEMBER- The new airline, launched by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, announced in March of this year plans to launch its first flight in 2025.

The caveat: Plans for fleet renewals at Middle Eastern carriers including Emirates and QatarAirways are slow due to delays from manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus, AIN online reported. The region’s fleets have remained static since the outbreak of Covid, but as air travel demand approaches pre-pandemic levels, an influx of orders is expected by year-end, the outlet adds. Qatar Airways is currently awaiting some 195 aircraft on order, while Etihad Airways’ is awaiting 105, the outlet adds.

Delays to the 777X program specifically poses a major issue for the region’s fleet replacements and expansion, the outlet quotes Cirium global head of consultancy Rob Morris as saying. “Fleet growth at Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar is inextricably linked to the 777X and A350 programs,” Morris said. “The timeline for certification of the former remains uncertain and the A350 backlog at all three typically includes small scale in 2024 with concentration from 2025 onwards. Hence, fleet growth is likely to remain limited until greater progress is evident on the B777X.”

all comes as air cargo demand continues to recover:Air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), witnessed a 1.9% y-o-y uptick in September,according to an International Air Transport Association press release. “Air cargo eked out modest growth in September despite falling trade volumes and high jet fuel prices. That clearly shows the strength of air cargo’s value proposition,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. “With the key export order and manufacturing PMIs hovering near positive territory, we can be cautiously optimistic for a strong year-end peak season,” he added.

Air cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), was up 12.1% y-o-y during the same period. The Middle East’s carriers recorded a 2.5% y-o-y increase in air cargo volumes for the month. African airlines, however, reported a 0.1% y-o-y drop in volumes despite growth in demand on the Africa-Asia trade lane.

ALSO WORTH NOTING-

The Saudi port authority (Mawani) has launched the country’s first logistics link between sea and air, according to a statement. Logistics company DSV has used the new transit service to transport a commercial shipment from Jeddah Islamic Port to King Abdulaziz International Airport, after which it was received by SAL logistics company and taken to its final destination by Saudia Cargo.

Background: Mawani inked in June an MoU with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) to improve air and sea logistics connectivity in the country. The three-party agreement aims to improve the country’s customs services and logistics operations as well as identify and address challenges in cargo transportation through simulations.

MARKET WATCH-

French container carrier CMA CGM is urging the industry to avoid a price war as the delivery of new vesselsthreatens to cause a slump in global shipping, according to its earnings release. “New capacity expected on the market in 2024 will likely continue to pull down freight rates,” the company said. The slowdown in the global economy is expected to continue weighing on the industry, the release adds. Although macroeconomic forecasts point to relatively resilient global economic activity in 2023, a recovery is not expected in 2024, the release adds.

Two wars, elevated inflation, and high borrowing costs are also weighing on consumer purchases and business confidence. There is also a risk of imbalance due to weak demand and high supply, which can cause rates to fall, CMA CGM CFO Ramon Fernandez told Bloomberg. The outlook for 2024 is unclear and will depend on the behavior of industry players, Fernandez said.

Iraq to resume Kurdish oil exports in days, oil minister says:Iraq is keen to resume production and export from Kurdistan’s fields, Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani is quoted as saying by Iraqi News Agency (INA) after meeting with officials in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Abdul Ghani expects to reach an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and foreign oil companies to resume oil production within three days, Reuters quotes him as saying. This comes following talks with Kurdish officials in Baghdad that took place last week on resuming the production and export of oil from the region’s fields, INA adds.

REMEMBER- Turkey halted 45k barrels per day imports from the KRG after a 25 March landmark decision by the International Chamber of Commerce deemed the transfers illegal and ordered Turkey to shell out USD 1.5 bn in compensations to Baghdad.

Will Europe say goodbye to Egyptian gas? Egypt’s LNG exports to Europe are expected to remain “low to zero” this winter due to the fallout from Israel’s war on Gaza, according to an analyst quoted by Reuters. A combination of surging domestic demand and reduced imports of Israeli gas since 7 October has made Egypt’s ambitions to become the main exporter of LNG to Europe “unachievable” in the short and medium term, according to a recent report (pdf) picked up by Reuters.

There’s caution among ins. firms: Several ins. companies are excluding Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan from their event cancellation policies after a slew of event call-offs, Reuters reports.

HELP SUPPORT GAZANS-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than a mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century. The charities we’re listing below are organizations working on Gaza relief that we think you can trust if you want to make a donation.

#1- Egyptian Red Crescent Society is one of the Egypt’s leading providers of humanitarian and emergency medical services. The Egypt Red Crescent accepts donations in EGP online and is on Fawry with the service code 99981. You can also donate to the organization through this Banque du Caire account: 49/403/30 (EGP) or 1065/601/30 (USD — code: BCAIEGCX030).

#2- The Emirates Red Crescent Authority has launched the Tarahum — For Gaza campaign and is accepting donations online via What’s App, SMS, Apple Pay, credit card, or bank transfer to ADIB (AE370500000000020000417).

#3-The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has launched the Sahem campaign accepting donations via their website, mobile apps on Apple Store and Google Play, or bank transfer to Al Rajhi Bank (SA5580000504608018899998).

#4- UNICEF has been on the ground in Gaza since the start of the crisis, providing urgent supplies and aid. You can donate to the agency directly using your card in your local currency here.

ALSO- The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank, Misr El Kheir and the Emirates Red Crescent Authority’s Tarahum campaign. You can make the donation via the Talabat app using your credit card.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

TheGCC-Türkiye Economic Forum kicked off during the weekend and will wrap today at Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. The forum allows the GCC and Turkey to explore potential areas of cooperation, increase bilateral trade, and establish networks for joint projects, according to the forum website. The event features a number of Turkish and GCC speakers and panelists from sectors including trade, investment, industry and logistics, infrastructure, agriculture and food, and sports.

The Supply Chain & Logistics Arabia summit is set to kick off tomorrow and wrap on Wednesday at Narcissus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will feature several panel discussions on matters including the future of supply chain, digitalisation and technology, procurement, warehouses, distribution and fulfillment, and last mile issues.

The IATA Slot Conference will kick off tomorrow and run until Friday at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The business meeting will host over 1k delegates, with representatives of more than 200 slot coordinated airports and over 225 airlines from across the world. The event allows the global airline community to meet for quick optimisation of planned schedules and to explore chances for growing routes and networks.

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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