Good morning, nice people. It’s a brisk roundup of news this morning with some investment and warehousing updates from the UAE and a policy push reaffirmed from Egypt’s new cabinet. First, let’s check in on the damage state-side…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas disrupting US transport: US airlines have canceled over 1.3k flights and closed up some of the country’s largest ports as Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas yesterday. Air Canada canceled daily flights scheduled today between Houston and Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and the US Federal Aviation Administration said thunderstorms could impact travel across the country. Texas’ largest ports suspended operations and vessel traffic on Sunday as the hurricane approached shore.

Mass disruption: Tropical storm Beryl has caused three fatalities and knocked out power to over 2.7 mn homes and businesses in Southeast Texas. Beryl — the season's earliest Category 5 hurricane on record — weakened from a hurricane after causing dangerous storm surges in the Texan town of Matagorda before moving across Houston, the US National Hurricane Center said. The storm will likely weaken significantly as it moves inland and state officials have yet to assess the economic damage racked up by the storm’s impact.

The storm continues to make wide coverage in the int’l press: Reuters | AP | The Guardian | CNN | CBS | The Washington Post | The Wall Street Journal | The New York Times | CNBC

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Demand for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) MRO services is surging amid the delay in new jet deliveries by Boeing and Airbus, DAE CEO Firoz Tarapore told Bloomberg in an interview. DAE’s maintenance and overhaul facilities, which are operated by Jordan-based Joramco, have been booked solid for the next 18 months. Airlines are resorting to repairing older planes due to the shortage in capacity, Tarapore told Bloomberg. “Airlines have intense pressure to make sure that every aircraft they own is up flying and making money for them because the supply of new aircraft is constrained,” he added.

#2- Oman is set to receive expressions of interest (EoI) from companies looking to win a contract to refurbish the old terminal at Muscat International Airport today, Oman Daily Observer reports. The chosen company will design, finance, build, transfer, and operate the project. The contract will be for a minimum of 20 to 25 years, which includes the construction phase.

#3- Egypt’s new government has logistics as a policy priority: Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly delivered his new government’s policy statement to the House of Representatives yesterday which includes a spotlight on the country’s logistics sector. The government reaffirmed its goal to turn Egypt into a global hub for logistics and trade by developing seven integrated international logistics corridors, completing the construction of 31 dry ports and logistics zones, expanding seaport berths to a total length of 100 km, and forming strategic partnerships with major global shipping players to increase the frequency of international ships docking at Egyptian ports.

Egypt’s shipping and logistics market is set to hit USD 14.6 bn in 2024 and USD 18 bn by 2029, Daily News reported, citing comments by Secretary-General of the International Transportation and Logistics Services Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Amr El-Samadouni.

IN OTHER EGYPT TRADE NEWS- Egypt is looking to attract USD 1 bn in investments from Turkey over the next 18 months, Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government source. Egypt plans to boost the trade value between the two countries by 15% to USD 7.2 bn over the next two years, the source said. The total volume of Turkey’s investments into Egypt currently stands at over USD 3 bn, the news outlet writes, citing Egypt’s Industry and Trade Ministry.

MARKET WATCH-

Oil prices extended losses in early morning trading after disruptions caused by Hurricane Beryl caused less damage than anticipated, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dipped further to USD 85.53 per barrel at 03.21 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures dropped to USD 82.09 per barrel, says the newswire.

European gas prices react to Beryl: Benchmark futures in Europe fell as much as 3.1% yesterday wiping out earlier gains by traders stockpiling since April, Bloomberg reports. The European market is closely watching disruption to LNG operations in Texas due to Beryl, which made landfall in the early hours of Monday.

DATA POINT-

Red Sea disruptions are biting into Suez Canal receipts: Suez Canal transit receipts fell 7.4% y-o-y to USD 5.8 bn, with a sharp 57.2% y-o-y drop in the third quarter of the fiscal year after Houthi attacks on vessels passing the waterway started to pick up. based on the Central Bank of Egypt figures (pdf).

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Global EV and Mobility Technology Forum on Wednesday, 10 July and Thursday, 11 July in Riyadh. The event will bring together international policymakers, NGOs, corporations, and start-ups to discuss industry topics including fleet electrification, autonomous and connected vehicles, and sustainable transport solutions.

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Warehousing and Logistics Expo on Monday, 2 September to Wednesday, 4 September in Riyadh. The event will bring together leaders in the supply chain, warehousing and logistics industry from across the Kingdom to discuss investments, trade, geopolitical risks, and localized manufacturing.

Egypt will host the Egypt International Airshow on Tuesday, 3rd September to Thursday, 5 September in El Alamein. The event will host a range of discussions touching on industrialization, digitalization, and globalization in the regional commercial aviation sector. During the event, aircrafts and innovative aerospace products, and services will be showcased.

Saudi Arabia will host SkyMove MENA on Tuesday, 10 September and Wednesday, 11 September in Riyadh. The event will gather global industry stakeholders, experts, and service providers to discuss challenges in the regional aviation industry.

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