Good morning, friends. We’re kicking the week off with a packed issue, led by fleet-expansion debt updates from Emirates Airlines, as well as major cross-border investment updates as DP World moves onto India and Saudi ups backing for Syria’s reconstruction. The earnings season is also in full swing — and so far, regional logistics players are largely having solid reports. But first, a quick update from the China-US front…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- US, China pause port fees for one year: Washington and Beijing have agreed to defer reciprocal fees on vessels linked to one another for a year, in yet another move signaling a tentative cooldown in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, according to a statement. The agreement would spare operators and owners of Chinese-built vessels an estimated annual bill of up to USD 3.2 bn in fees.

IN CONTEXT- The decision came as part of a larger agreement to de-escalate trade tensions between the countries after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea last Thursday. As per the agreement, the US said it will lower tariffs on China by 10%, whereas China will reportedly resume purchases of US soybeans and delay its rare earths export controls regime.

A recap: The US began collecting fees on China-linked vessels last month, following through on a proposal made by Trump in March to impose a flat fee of USD 80 per net tonnage when calling on US ports. Meanwhile, China also announced its own retaliatory fees on US-linked ships last month, with the fees to be applied on ships making their first port entry on a single journey or for the first five voyages within the year.

The story grabbed some ink in the int’l press: Reuters | Bloomberg | Lloyd’s List

HAPPENING TODAY-

The ADIPEC Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference is opening its doors today and will run until Thursday, 6 November in Abu Dhabi. The event is part of the larger ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference, featuring 10 parallel conferences. The event brings together over 250k attendees, including high-level officials and executives from governments and the private sector, representing multiple industries like energy and logistics.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Israel is hitting pause on its USD 35 bn gas export agreement with Egypt “until Israeli interests are secured and a fair price for the Israeli market is agreed upon,” Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s office said in a statement. While political tensions between Cairo and Tel Aviv already complicated the agreement, this most recent roadblock is from internal commercial disputes in Israel, the Financial Times cites an unnamed insider as saying.

The US isn’t happy, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright canceling an upcoming trip to Israel because of it, according to the ministry statement. Cohen’s office alleged that US officials — who have de facto lobbied on behalf of US energy giant and Leviathan gas field co-owner Chevron — had been “exerting a great [amount] of pressure on Israeli officials” to greenlight the agreement.

REMEMBER- The agreement, signed in early August, would see Leviathan partners — led by Chevron and Israel’s NewMed Energy — export 130 bcm of gas to Egypt between 2026 and 2040. Flows will first increase from 4.5 bn cbm in 2025 to 6.5 bn cbm as early as 2026 under the first 20 bn cbm phase of the agreement. Shortly after the agreement was signed, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said that it would in no way affect Egypt’s stance on Palestine.

#2- UAE to hand over 60% of revenues from Islamabad Airport in possible takeover? Abu Dhabi Investment is currently in negotiations with Pakistan after it agreed to take over operations of Islamabad International Airport, with current talks floating the idea of the UAE earmarking a 60% revenue share for Pakistan, Bloomberg reported last week, citing Wasim Tariq, Pakistan’s joint secretary for aviation, at a briefing.

REFRESHER- In September, Pakistan’s cabinet greenlit the transfer of operations of Islamabad Airport to the UAE under a government-to-government model, pending talks ironing out the fine print. The move comes as Pakistan works on outsourcing the management of some state-owned assets — a condition of the International Monetary Fund’s USD 7 bn bailout reform agenda for the country.

Who is out of picture now? Pakistan’s government rejected a bid from a consortium made up of Turkey’s Yapi and ERG UK, which had offered to keep 40% of revenues for Pakistan, Tariq said.

More to come: The Pakistani government is looking to transfer the operations of two other major airports in Karachi and Lahore, and is in the process of appointing financial advisers to facilitate the transfer of its remaining two airports. The government is also looking to sell a 51% to 100% stake of the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, by the end of the year.

IN OTHER AIRPORT NEWS- Jordan to reopen Amman Civil Airport for commercial operations this month — also known as Marka International Airport — after years of closure, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said during a Cabinet meeting last week. The move will expand air traffic to the country’s capital in a bid to boost domestic economic and tourism activity.

Background: The airport served as the country’s main airport until the opening of Queen Alia International Airport in 1983. Since then, the airport has been mainly used for non-commercial operations, such as diplomatic, private, and maintenance flights. Jordan Airports Company manages and operates the airport, which has been under rehabilitation for several years.

#3- Syrian roads could soon be destination for cross-border trucking: Turkey is working with Syria to prepare the country to function as a key transit node for a transnational trade corridor linking to Jordan and the GCC, Turkey Today reported last week. Turkey is angling for the launch of the trucking corridor next year, and is working with the Syrian government on rehabilitating road infrastructure, as well as its customs and visa processes, theTurkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat during Turkey-Jordan Joint Economic Commission meeting in Amman.

ICYMI- Turkey and Syria resumed direct road transport after a 13-year halt back in September. The move cut shipping times by allowing Turkish and Syrian trucks to cross the border without transferring goods to locally licensed trucks.

REMEMBER- Turkey’s gone all in on Syria’s logistics sector; participating in a USD 4 bn investment to develop Damascus International Airport by a Qatar-US-Turkey consortium; funneling a spate of investments in industrial zones for SMEs across the country; and a working on a freezone in its bordering Idlib governorate currently.

#4- CMA CGM continue to brave Red Sea despite security risks: The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin — a vessel with roughly 18k TEU capacity — is seemingly bound for the Suez Canal, which would make it the largest containership to traverse the Red Sea waterway since early 2024, Lloyd’s List reported last week, citing ship tracking data. Large containerships have been slow to return to crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait following targeted attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants, with only 13 transits by six vessels with capacities between 15k TEU and 16k TEU crossing in 9M 2025 — all operated by CMA CGM on Asia–Mediterranean routes.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rose this morning on the back of Opec+ decision to halt hikes throughout 1Q 2026, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures increased by USD 0.24 to USD 65.01 / bbl as of 04:24 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) went up by USD 0.21 to trade at USD 61.19 / bbl.

Zooming in on Opec+ decision: The cartel group has agreed to bump production by another 137k bbl / d next month, then pause hikes throughout 1Q 2026, according to a press release. The group approved the same additional number of barrels for October and November as part of its gradual unwinding of its 1.65 mn bbl / d voluntary cuts. Saudi Arabia’s production share will be at around 10.1 mn bbl / d until March, while the UAE’s will be some 3.41 mn bbl / d. The next meeting is scheduled for 30 November.

The actual output gains have lagged behind official targets, as some member states compensate for past overproduction while others face technical or capacity constraints, Bloomberg reports. With cooling demand in China and rising supply across the Americas, the market is already tipping into oversupply, Bloomberg added, citing trading firm Trafigura Group.

While US sanctions on Russian oil companies helped stabilize prices after a five-month low, it’s too early to fully assess their broader market implications, according to one Opec+ delegate.

Meanwhile in Saudi, the Kingdom is expected to lower its December official selling price for Arab Light crude by USD 1.2-1.5 / bbl, to a premium over the Oman-Dubai average of between USD 0.7 and USD 1 / bbl, Reuters reported on Friday, citing its survey of Asian refining sources. The official selling price remained untouched at USD 2.2 in October and November. Other Saudi grades — Arab Extra Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy — could also see decreases of USD 1.2–1.5 / bbl for December.

Remember, November rates are already down: Aramco reduced its November official selling prices for liquefied petroleum gas, lowering propane to USD 475 per ton (down 4%) and butane to USD 460 per ton (down 3.2%) over rising increased global supply and lower oil prices, Reuters reported on Friday, citing traders.

BUT- Saudi Arabia may implement smaller price cuts due to rising demand from China and India seeking alternatives to Russian crude amid Western sanctions. Additional requests from Japan and South Korea for December-loading Saudi oil — along with limited supply as refineries resume operations after maintenance — are also suggesting lower cuts, Energy Aspects Analyst Richard Jones told the newswire.

#2- Baltic index falls once again: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell nearly 0.9% to 1,966 on Friday, buoyed by broad declines across vessel segments. The capesize decreased by 0.5% to 2,929, while the panamax index eased 1.5% to 1,821. The smaller supramax index shed 0.8% to 1,326.

#3– The Drewry World Container Index increased by 4% to USD 1,822 per 40-ft container on Thursday, according to the latest index readings. The drop comes on the back of market turbulence driven by the US’s tariff policies since April. The container forecaster projects the supply-demand balance to fall in 2H 2025, causing spot rates to fall further.

#4-Global air cargo demand shot up 2.9% y-o-y in September — marking the seventh consecutive month of overall growth, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released last week. This was balanced out by increased global capacity – measured in available cargo tonne-km – which jumped up 3% y-o-y.

Carriers from our region saw demand go up 0.6% y-o-y, while capacity surged up 5.5% y-o-y in September — marking the largest increase in regional capacity globally, after Africa.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

Egypt will host the TransMea Expo on Sunday, 9 November until Tuesday, 11 November in Cairo. The expo will host regional and international players in the transport industry to explore tech, new smart solutions, and products for transport and logistics services.

The UAE will host the Dubai Airshow on Monday, 17 November until Friday, 21 November in Dubai. The event will host over 1.5k exhibitors and 148k industry experts from over 150 countries, to discuss air mobility, new MRO breakthroughs, sustainable aviation, startups, and new tech for aircraft simulations.

Saudi Arabia will host the ShipTek International Conference and Awards on Tuesday, 18 November in Al Khobar. The conference will host policy makers, organizations, suppliers, and experts on maritime, offshore, and oil and gas.

Egypt will host the International Procurement Supply Chain Conference on Saturday, 6 December in Cairo. The event will gather over 1k delegates, more than 400 organizations, and over 30 global speakers to discuss the future of trade through keynotes and panel discussions. The discussions will center on Egypt’s transformation in the logistics sector, the future of smart ports and supply chains, as well as digital ecosystems.

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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