Good morning, friends. The news cycle has slightly slowed down today, leaving us with a balanced read led by supply chain and trade updates from Egypt. Today’s news well also features regulatory updates from the UAE as Dubai moves to roll out autonomous trucking. Let’s get the ball rolling.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The Global Freight Summit is on its third day and runs until tomorrow in Istanbul, Turkey. The event hosts independent freight forwarders for an open networking event. The goal is to have over 350 attendees exchange agency recommendations, learn from industry leaders, and build new networks.

The Global Rail Transport Infrastructure Exhibition and Conference kicks off today and will run until Thursday, 2 October in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The event is hosted by Etihad Rail and is set to welcome over 200 global speakers that include top executives from Dubai Airports, Korea National Railway, Keolis, DHL Global Forwarding, Parsons, Saudi Arabia Railway, and Talgo.

The Saudi Maritime and Logistics Congress will open its doors tomorrow and wrap up on Thursday, 2 October in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The event will host over 200 registered exhibitors and some 15k attendees from over 90 countries to discuss AI-powered fleet optimization, shifts in global trade, and intelligence-driven infrastructure. Speakers include the Kingdom’s Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Bahri CEO Ahmed Alsubaey, and King Abdullah Port CEO Jay New.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Egyptian government handed US companies a portfolio of 22 potential investments in the transport sector, sources familiar with the matter told Asharq Business. The portfolio includes 10 seaport projects, five logistics and dry port projects, four in the metro and electric traction, and three river ports slated for development in the coming years. The projects on offer are limited to rights of management, operation, and maintenance, without any transfer of asset ownership.

ICYMI- The move comes after a US business delegation toured Egypt’s ports earlier this month to explore potential partnerships in the sector. The delegation included representatives from Bechtel, Cisco, Hill International, TMEIC, OSI/Rapiscan, Aveva, and Alvarez and Marsal Holdings.

ALSO- Egypt is working on an incentives package to promote investments in specific sectors within the country’s freezones, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The package — prepared by the General Authority for Investment and FreeZones — will be included in an upcoming promotional campaign to attract foreign investments, we were informed.

The government has named 31 priority sectors to be promoted in public and private freezones, according to a government document reviewed by EnterpriseAM. Of these, eight sectors are ready to be promoted, while efforts for the other sectors will require more time due to the need for legislative and procedural changes, according to the document. The first group of sectors will include chemicals, textiles, pharma, hotels and resorts, consumer electronics, and healthcare.

DATA POINT- Public and private freezones hosted 1.2k projects with a total capital of USD 14.1 bn as of the end of June 2025.

#2- Both the European Union and the UN have re-imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, putting the final nail in the coffin of the Obama-era 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, dubbed officially Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The build-up for the “snapback” sanctions in both intergovernmental institutions was led by European powers Germany, France, and the UK — known as the E3 — which have remained committed to the 2015 arrangement despite the US withdrawal in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first administration.

Some of the EU sanctions will target several aspects of the Iranian logistics sector, including measures to bar Iranian cargo flights from accessing EU airports; a ban on the maintenance or servicing of Iranian cargo aircraft or vessels transporting restricted materials or goods; and a halt to the import and transportation of Iranian crude oil, natural gas, petrochemical, petroleum products, and related services.

There are signs that the snapback sanctions — especially the UN’s — could tighten the screws on Iranian crude trade. For example, several terminal operators in China’s Shandong province are said to be preparing measures to bar old tankers that carry sanctioned Iranian crude from their facilities, according to a notice issued by four terminal operators at Qingdao Port Authority-owned Huangdao Port seen by Reuters on Friday. The measures are set to be imposed starting 1 November.

The criteria: The sanctions will target vessels that are 31 years or older, as well as vessels using fraudulent International Maritime Organization certificates, Bloomberg reports. Other vessels entering ports in Shandong province will be rated on a score based on the risk level — determined by a vessel’s age and pollution liability. If a tanker gets a low score, it will not be able to berth in the province’s ports.

#3- Iraqi roads have seen over 273 road cargo shipments under the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) system since its implementation in June — which included food, industrial products, equipment, machinery, and raw materials distributed through the dry ports of Ibrahim Al-Khalil, Trebil, and Safwan, and Umm Qasr seaport, INA reports.

REFRESHER- Iraq joined the International Road Transport Union (IRU) in March — a move expected to reduce transport times by 80% and cut costs of transporting goods by around 38%. The TIR system aims to pave the way for a transnational trucking route that connects the Arabian Gulf from Iraq’s Umm Qasr port with the Mediterranean through Turkey’s Mersin port. Iraq received three shipments from Turkey under the system in July.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices continued their downward trend over concerns of supply surplus driven by news of a possible Opec+ production hike and Iraq’s resumption of oil exports to Turkey, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures for November fell by USD 0.54 to USD 67.43 / bbl, while its December contracts dropped USD 0.53 to USD 66.56 / bbl as of 03.20 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also took a dip, falling by USD 0.50 to trade at USD 62.95 / bbl.

Over in our region, Saudi is forecasted to raise November’s official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light crude to Asia by USD 0.20-0.40 a barrel from October, bringing it to USD 2.40–2.60 above the Oman-Dubai benchmark, Reuters reported yesterday, citing a survey of six refiners. Other Saudi grades — Arab Extra Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy — could also see increases of USD 0.30–0.60 a barrel for November.

REMEMBER- The move would partially reverse last month’s deeper-than-expected USD 1 cut, which set October’s Arab Light OSP at USD 2.20 / bbl — well below market forecasts of USD 2.50-2.80. The kingdom had raised the price in September by USD 1 a barrel to USD 3.20 / bbl above the Oman-Dubai benchmark, marking a second consecutive monthly hike before the sharp rollback.

Riyadh is expected to hold back from larger price hikes as it continues negotiations with buyers over the 2026 term supply, one refiner said. Elevated freight costs are also squeezing margins, limiting the room for Asian refiners to absorb higher crude prices.

#2- Baltic index continues to shed points: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 39 points to 2,220 on Monday, driven by declining rates across all segments. The capesize fell 103 points to 3,524, while the panamax index eased 14 points to 1,818. The smaller supramax index shed 1 point to 1,47.

PSA-

Maersk revises PSS for reefer containers: Shipping giant Maersk has revised two peak season surcharges (PSS) for reefer containers traveling from the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East to the US and Canada’s East and Gulf coasts, according to statements published on Saturday here and here.

The details: For cargo coming from the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, a USD 300 PSS applies to all 20-ft reefer and 40-ft high cube reefer containers from 26 September to 24 October. A USD 1.3k PSS will apply to 20-ft reefer and 40-ft high cube reefer containers starting 25 October, with an undisclosed expiry date.

What’s a 40-ft high cube reefer? High cube reef containers offer one more foot of height than traditional 40-ft containers. Similar to other reefers, the high cube containers are readied with insulation and refrigeration systems suitable for perishable items.

***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.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UK will host the Marine Environment Protection Committee Extraordinary Session from Tuesday, 14 October until Friday, 17 October at the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) HQ in London. The session is set to see the intergovernmental body formally adopt its Net-Zero Framework — rolling out new fuel standards for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions.

Belgium will host the AntwerpXL on Tuesday, 14 October until Thursday, 16 October in Antwerp. The expo will host 3.8k project cargo, break bulk, RoRo, heavy lift, and industry experts to expand collaborations. It will co-locate with the Transport & Logistics conference and exhibition.

Morocco will host the International Forum and Expo on Mobility, Transport and Logistics (Logiterre) on Thursday, 16 October until Saturday, 18 October in Casablanca. Logiterre will host main operators within the industry from West and Central Africa.

The UAE will host the Adipec Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference on Monday, 3 November until Thursday, 6 November in Abu Dhabi. The conference will host over 250k attendees working in government entities, finance, and tech.

The UAE will host the Air Cargo Forum on Tuesday, 4 November until Thursday, 6 November in Abu Dhabi. The forum — hosted by Etihad Cargo — will bring together air freight industry leaders, policymakers, innovators, and stakeholders to discuss industry solutions, tech, strategies, and collaborative initiatives for global air logistics.

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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