Good morning, friends. The news cycle ticked up slightly overnight with fresh updates from the seas and skies, along with more from Trump’s never-ending tariff negotiations…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- US President Donald Trump inked an agreement to slash tariffs on some UK imports, upholding the current duties on UK automobiles and eliminating levies on British aerospace products, including parts and planes. The agreement will be implemented seven days after getting published on the Federal Register. A decision has yet to be reached regarding steel, aluminum import tariffs, and pharma products.

We knew this was coming: Last month, the US inked a limited bilateral trade agreement with the UK to maintain a 10% blanket tariff on UK imports into the US — applied to the first 100k British vehicles — from the current 27.5%.

That’s not all: The US is also mulling plans to impose a quota — to be decided on by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — on steel and aluminum UK imports that would be exempt from 25% tariffs. The quota would only be enforced if the UK ensures the security of its steel supply chains and production facilities.

The story grabbed ink in the international outlets: Reuters | Associated Press | Bloomberg | The Financial Times | The New York Times | BBC | The Guardian

HAPPENING TODAY-

Flynas will go public on Tadawul’s main market today, according to a Tadawul bulletin published yesterday. Shares will be allowed to trade within a 30% range for the first three days, before being capped at no more than 10% up or down starting on the fourth the day when circuit breakers kick in.

This is the region’s first IPO of a major airline since 2008 and only the third-ever carrier tolist in the GCC after Air Arabia and Jazeera Airway — beating Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways to market.

REFRESHER- Flynas priced its IPO at SAR 80 a piece after its institutional offering saw overwhelming demand. The larger tranche of the IPO — in which the PIF-backed airline is taking a 30% stake to Tadawul — was 100x oversubscribed, while the retail tranche of its SAR 4.1 bn IPO 3.5x covered.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Two oil tankers have collided and caught fire near the Strait of Hormuz off the Emirati coast, with zero reported casualties and no resulting spillage, Reuters reports. The Suez Canal-bound Adalynn — owned by Frontline — was carrying 2 mn barrels of Iraqi crude and was bound for China when it collided with The Front Eagle, the newswire added, citing a statement from monitoring outfit TankerTrackers.

The UAE Coast Guard safely evacuated 24 crew members from Adalynn, according to a statement on X and Reuters. The incident wasn’t directly related to the conflict, one of the vessel’s owners told Bloomberg, though electronic interference in the channel has risen since Israel and Iran have exchanged air strikes, disrupting navigation signals. Upwards of 900 vessels in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz reported disrupted signals over the past weekend, which increased the likelihood of collisions.

Strait closure would “paralyze” the Gulf, expert warns: Any measure to restrict movement in the Strait of Hormuz will “paralyze the [Arabian] gulf and impact the entire world,” Iraqi economist Hilal Al Taan told Shafaq News. Notable ports like UAE’s Jebel Ali, along with oil-reliant nations Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait will incur catastrophic financial losses, Al Taan said.

IN OTHER SHIPPING NEWS- Japan’s second-largest shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines will operate as normal in the Gulf, but plans to keep a close eye on the regional situation, CEO Takeshi Hashimoto told Reuters. Shipments in the Gulf have no alternative route — which indicates that unlike the Red Sea, shippers will not be able to follow through with shipments to and from the region if transits halt. The firm has nearly 15 to 20 vessels which regularly transit the region — including chemical tankers and car carriers — making it “very, very difficult for [MOL] to reduce or stop” their services, Hashimoto added.

#2- Morocco to produce parts for Boeing’s 737 MAX: Morocco’s Casablanca Aéronautique — a subsidiary of France’s Figeac Aéro Group — signed an agreement with Boeing to produce machined parts for the 737 MAX aircraft, Morocco World News reports. The move comes in a bid to set up a “solid aerospace ecosystem in Morocco,” VP of Global Supply Chain at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Emily Belgrade was quoted as saying.

Latest on Boeing + Morocco: Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc is reportedly close to clinching an order of some two dozen Boeing 787 Dreamliners and up to 50 Boeing 737s. Royal Air Maroc intends to quadruple its fleet in anticipation of its co-hosting of the World Cup in 2030, as Rabat plans to raise airport capacity to 78 mn passengers per year.

#3- Homs-Hama pipeline restarts after decade-long hiatus: Syria’s Homs Refinery Company has resumed operations at a pipeline — halted for 14 years — conveying oil from Homs Governorate to depots in Hama, with a daily capacity of 2.6k cbm, the Syrian News Agency reports. The government is looking to extend the 56-km pipeline to Aleppo and Idlib in the future, with an overall length of 180km.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices kept climbing in early morning trading compounding a 4% gain from the previous session as the Israel-Iran conflict enters its sixth day, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose by USD 0.25 to reach USD 76.71 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed USD 0.35 to USD 75.19 a barrel by 04.40 GMT. "Material disruption to Iran's production or export infrastructure would add more upward pressure to prices … even in the unlikely event that all Iranian exports are lost, they could be replaced by spare capacity from Opec+ producers ... around 5.7 mn barrels a day," Fitch analysts said a client note cited by the newswire.

Meanwhile, global oil supplies are expected to outpace demand this year even as Middle East tensions heighten concerns over potential disruptions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual report (pdf).

By the numbers: Oil production is forecast to grow by 1.8 mn bbl/d this year to reach 104.9 mn bbl/d, while demand is projected at 103.8 mn bbl/d — resulting in rising oil inventories throughout the year. The surplus is driven by Opec+ producers gradually reversing earlier output cuts and non-Opec+ producers contributing an additional 1.4 mn bbl/d on average.

Global inventories have been rising steadily, with storage levels increasing by an average of 1 mn bbl/d since February. In May alone, oil jumped to a “massive” 93 mn bbl/d — that said, total inventories remain 90 mn bbl below year-ago levels.

Long term outlook: Global oil supply will continue exceeding demand through 2030, with production capacity rising by 5 mn bbl/d to 114.7 mn bbl/d, according to the IEA. Demand is expected to grow more slowly, increasing by 2.5 mn bbl/d to a projected peak of 105.5 mn bbl/d by the end of the decade. A major factor in this slowdown is China, where consumption is now expected to peak in 2027, driven by the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, high-speed rail expansion, and gas-powered trucking.

#2- Baltic index snaps winning streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — dipped 1.2% to 1,952 points on Tuesday. The capesize fell 1.9% to 3,660 points, while the panamax decreased 0.3% to 1,406 points. The supramax increased six points to 945.

PSA-

Hapag-Lloyd rolls out MENA price hikes: Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has increased its general rates from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to North America by USD 500 per container, effective 15 July until further notice, according to a statement. The move will impact shipments heading to the US and Canada from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, KSA, and Jordan. The German firm is also implementing an additional general rate increase of USD 1k per container on the same routes, starting 1 August, according to a statement.

Maersk was quick to follow: Dutch Shipping giant Moller-Maersk has also revised its peak season surcharge (PSS) for cargo travelling between the region and North America — rising to USD 4k per container, effective 16 July, according to a statement. The PSS will impact shipments headed from the UAE, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, KSA, and Jordan to the US and Canada.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Logistics is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities, Transmar, and AK-Ships.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of Enterprise Logistics.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on logistics@enterprisemea.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the MENAclimate industry ?
***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host Middle East Rail from Tuesday, 24 June to Thursday, 25 June in Dubai. The conference at Dubai World Trade Center will host over 250 speakers and a multi-brand exhibition for transport solutions.

Mozambique will host Intermodal Africa from Tuesday, 22 July to Thursday, 24 July in Beira. The conference will host 35 speakers, to address challenges in global and regional maritime trade and investment.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

Tags: