Good morning, lovely people. We have a packed issue for you today, with tons of updates from across the region — including everything about purchasing activity and supply chains in the region in October.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- It’s PMI day: Purchasing manager indices (PMI) tracking non-energy sectors in UAE, KSA, Qatar, Egypt, and Lebanon told a mixed tale in October. The UAE, KSA and Qatar remained in expansion due to an increase in new orders and high demand, though Qatar is inching closer to the threshold separating contraction from expansion. Meanwhile, Egypt and Lebanon remained in contraction in October amid supply chain challenges and geopolitical tensions.

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

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Maerks slashes 10k jobs: Danish logistics giant AP Moller-Maersk is letting go of some 3.5k staff amid “challenging market conditions,” the company said in a statement. The move comes as the industry faces subdued demand and inflationary pressures on their operating expenses, CEO of Maersk Vincent Clerc said. The cost-cutting strategy will push down Maersk’s selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) by USD 600 mn for 2024. The company’s operating income fell 82.5% y-o-y to USD 1.9 bn in 3Q 2024, while revenues 47% y-o-y to 12.1 bn.

“The new normal we are now headed into is one of more subdued macroeconomic outlook, and thus soft volume demands for the coming years, prices back in line with historical levels, inflationary pressures on our cost base, especially from energy cost, and also increased geopolitical uncertainty,” CEO Vincent Clerc said on an investor call. “If the fourth quarter does not deliver some type of improvements, then I think we’re looking at a pretty dire situation in 2024,” he added.

Market reax: The company’s shares fell 18% on Friday following the announcement.

The news got a lot of ink in the foreign press:CNN | CNBC | Reuters | WSJ | The Guardian | FT.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The Smart Transport, Logistics Infrastructure & Traffic Fair & Forum for the MEA Region(TransMEA) kicked off yesterday in Cairo, Egypt and will run until 8 November. The event brings together international and regional industry players, as well as some 350 exhibitors from 20 countries from the railway, metro, monorail, electric transport, roads, bridges, maritime transport, shipping, and logistics sector, to showcase solutions, trends, new products and technologies.

FROM THE FIRST DAY-The Suez Canal Economic Zone announced plans to launch adigital platform to enhance the efficiency of customs and logistics services next year, according to a statement.

ALSO- Egypt is planning to offer up tenders for the management and operations of its airports to private firms, Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on the sidelines of the TransMea 2023, according to an Egyptian Cabinet statement.

REMEMBER- Privatization of the aviation sector is on the agenda for KSA too: Saudi Arabia is also looking to attract more private firms to its aviation sector, and draw them to take over airports, ground handling operations, and air cargo.

^^ Stay tuned for more announcements and agreements from the event, which we will cover in detail throughout the week.

SPEAKING OF PRIVATIZATION-Turkey has plans to privatize a number of ports, highways, bridges, and hydroelectric power plants and land owned by state-owned Electricity Generation Corporation (EÜAŞ), Turkish Minute quotes Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek as saying, without specifying the exact assets that will be included in the privatization program.

REMEMBER- Turkey has been looking into selling the operating rights for its sovereign wealth fund-owned Alsancak Port in Izmir as part of its push to attract foreign investment. There were ongoing talks in July with GCC countries for the 635k sqm port. This port was previously slated for privatization in 2004, with a consortium of Hutchison Port Holdings, EIB Limas, and Global Yatirim Holding getting the tender for the port; however, the Turkish administrative court blocked the tender in 2008.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1-Construction onthe Integrated Economic Zone at Al Dhahirah Governorate (Ezad) is set to begin in 2024, Oman Daily Observer reports. The Saudi Fund for Development had earlier this year inked an agreement to finance the construction of Ezad’s infrastructure for SAR 1.2 bn. Saudi Arabia and Oman previously formed a committee to plan for the development of a new integrated economic zone in Dhahirah.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2-Oman is looking to establish 300 EV charging stations by 2025 as well as a green transit corridor linking Sohar Port to oil concessions, Oman News Agency ONA reports, citing a Transport Ministry official. The country currently has 100 charging stations and is looking to manufacture electric cars in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm.

DATA POINT #1-Qatar’s ports saw a 39% y-o-y rise in container transshipment volumes during October, handling 119.4k TEUs, according to a statement. The ports handled 47% more livestock m-o-m, 21% more building materials, and 8% more ro-ro volumes at Hamad, Doha and Ruwais ports.

DATA POINT #2-KSA’s Jeddah Islamic Port handled 511.3 TEUs in October, breaking the record for highest monthly container throughput in its history, according to a statement.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

Ukraine says Russian planes dropped explosives on Black Sea shipping lanes last week, though the export corridor continued its operations, Reuters reports. After exiting a UN-brokered agreement in July that allowed Ukraine to export grain and other food commodities via its Black Sea ports, Russia has said that it will consider any vessel a potential military target. “The occupiers are continuing to terrorize the paths of civilian shipping in the Black Sea with tactical aviation, dropping explosive objects into the likely paths of civilian vessel traffic,” Ukraine’s southern military command said.

IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS-The US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) performed a live firing exercise using unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in international waters near the Gulf, according to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. This marks the first time an exercise of the kind has been conducted in international waters in the Middle East, Marine Insight reports.

MARKET WATCH-

KSA + Russia to continue oil cuts through December:Saudi Arabia and Russia will continue their voluntary oil cuts through to the end of December, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and Russian News Agency (Tass) reported. Saudi Arabia will maintain its cuts of 1 mn barrels per day (bpd) and Russia will continue its 300k bpd cuts. The cuts, which were first implemented in July, were extended in October till December 2023. The Saudi decision will be reviewed next month to consider whether the cuts should be extended, deepened, or reversed, a source at the Energy Ministry said. The cuts aim to support OPEC+ measures to maintain stability and balance in the oil markets, the Saudi source and Tass explained.

The UAE’s Port of Fujairah saw a 1.4% increase in stockpiles of oil products in the week ending 30 October,marking the first increase after a three-week decline, S&P Global reported. Some 17 mn barrels made up the port’s inventories as of October 30, up from the previous week’s 16.8 mn barrels. Stocks of residues — which include heavy distillates — rose 24.6% to 11 mn barrels during the same period. Middle distillates such as jet fuel and diesel, however, dropped 16.3% y-o-y during the week. Oil product exports excluding fuel oil from Fujairah stood at 635.6k barrels per day in the week starting 26 October, up from 285.7k barrels per day the previous week.

Oil traders are set to pay premiums to ensure 2024 Mideast crude supplies amid growing concerns over supply on the back of Israel’s war on Gaza, Reuters reports, citing trade sources. Last week’s annual Middle East crude agreements witnessed increased prices for the cargoes sold, driven by growing instability in global oil markets. Murban and Oman cargoes were sold at a premium of 30-50 cents a barrel, surpassing their official selling prices, and in line with their operational tolerance — which is the allowed percentage volume that a buyer or seller can adjust during the loading of the cargo depending on demand and availability.

Abu Dhabi’s flagship Murban crude was priced at a premium of 10-20 cents a barrel, while Oman was sold at premiums of 4-5 cents a barrel, for cargo with 0.2% operational tolerance, the sources said.Abu Dhabi light grade Das, with the same operational tolerance level, was traded at premiums between 1-7 cents to its official price, one of the sources said.

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-

The Turkish-Arab Economic Forum 2023 is set to take place on Wednesday, 8 November at the ÇırağanPalace Kempinski in Istanbul. The event will include networking sessions, and several sessions focused on Turkish-Arab collaborations in several sectors, including trade, according to the forum’s agenda (pdf).

The third Caspian Economic Forum will be held in mid-November in Iran, state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency reports. The event is set to focus on transportation, joint ventures, oil and gas, finance, banking and technical cooperation in Iran, with Alireza Jahangiri, Iran’s deputy foreign caspian sea affairs minister, calling on economic institutions to attend, IRNA adds. The exact location and dates of the forum have yet to be confirmed.

The Dubai Air Show will be held from 13-17 November at DWC, at the Dubai Airshow site, in Dubai. The event will feature over 180 aircraft including business jets, drones, commercial airlines, military jets, helicopters, and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. 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.

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