Good morning, nice people. It’s a calmer news day on the regional logistics front, and we have all the latest from Saudi’s Global Logistics Forum and some big data centers news from the UAE’s Damac. Let’s dive right in.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Emirates President Tim Clark has slammed Boeing for its 777x delivery delays, saying that his company plans to have “serious conversations” with the aircraft manufacturer in the coming months, Bloomberg reports. Boeing pushed back delivery dates of its new 777x aircrafts earlier this week, with first delivery of its 777-9 airplane forecasted to be in 2026 and its 777-8 freighter aircraft in 2028. Delivery delays have been attributed to setbacks in flight testing for the individual aircraft models and a labor strike at the company.

What they said: The UAE-based airline has “had to make significant and highly expensive amendments to [its] fleet programmes as a result of Boeing’s multiple contractual shortfalls,” Clark said in a statement. “I fail to see how Boeing can make any meaningful forecasts of delivery dates.”

Not a first: Clark predicted back in July that Boeing’s 777X aircraft would not enter commercial services before 2026, and that he “would not take kindly” to further delays caused by a growing backlog of orders. Emirates has not been shy in calling out Boeing for its shortfalls, with Clark expressing that the airline was “extremely exasperated” with delivery delays from Boeing.

IN OTHER BOEING NEWS- The Boeing machinist strike has cost the firm and workers USD 5 bn so far as the strike enters its fifth week, according to Anderson Economic Group analysis seen by CNN. Boeing’s suppliers and shareholders are taking the brunt of the losses, losing some USD 3.7 bn so far. No planes have been worked on at the company's production facility in Washington since the workers went on strike — the first walk out at the company in 16 years.

#2- Saudi Arabia accepting bids for customs warehouse project: Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (Zatca) is accepting bids for the development and operation of customs warehouses at 38 points of entry (PoEs) across the Kingdom, according to a statement. The project will see the construction of 12 new warehouses and the renovation of one. It also includes facility maintenance for the new warehouses, the supply of new equipment for both new and existing warehouses at the 38 PoEs , as well as logistics support and cleaning services for all these warehouses.

#3- Iran cuts back on oil exports from Jask terminal: Iran has seemingly stopped or heavily cut back on crude oil exports from its single buoy mooring (SBM) off the Kooh Mobarak oil facility west of Bandar-e Jask terminal, the Maritime Executive reports. An Aframax or a VLCC tanker was seen moored at the buoy throughout September, but has not been sighted since 4 October. The Kooh Mobarak SBM is Iran's sole export point beyond the Gulf, bypassing the need to navigate through the Straits of Hormuz.

ICYMI- Iran said in June 2023 that it wanted to establish a new port on the Gulf of Oman, with feasibility studies demarcating the boundaries for the new port and determining the viability of its proposed location at Kooh Mobarak.

#4- Normal traffic returning to Suez Canal could cause “operational meltdown,” Maersk warns: Danish shipping giant Maersk has warned of a possible operational meltdown due to overcapacity and port congestion when shipping through the Suez Canal returns to its regular traffic levels, The Loadstar reports, citing comments by CCO Karsten Kildahl. The moment traffic returns to normal, “the havoc is going to start, because you will have [many] vessels coming in at the same time … vessels that left Asia two weeks earlier will clash with vessels that leave Asia,” Kildahl said.

Cape of Good Hope network instead: Hapag-Lloyd would plan for “an orderly transition [to Suez Canal transits] to be executed as fast as circumstances allow,” a company representative told The Loadstar, but added that “many currently unknown factors” make it difficult to predict the timeline.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices dropped 3% in early morning trading following a 2% drop yesterday as news emerged that Israel would not strike at Iranian oil depots, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures lost USD 2.27 to trade at USD 75.19 per barrel by 01.27 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures shed USD 2.22 to trade at USD 71.60 per barrel. Oil prices have plunged by nearly USD 4 this week, almost eliminating cumulative gains in the previous seven sessions up to last Friday as investors wrestled with concern over disruptions to supply due to escalating regional tensions.

Opec+ trims oil demand growth forecast: The group of oil-producing nations now sees global demand rising 2% y-o-y — or 1.9 mn bpd — in 2024 — that is 106k bpd less than September estimates, according to the group’s monthly oil market report (pdf). This is the third month in a row that Opec+ revises down its outlook for global oil consumption, according to Bloomberg. “The forecast for world oil demand growth in 2025 is also revised down by 102 bpd to 1.6 mn bpd y-o-y.”

Demand could drop even lower: The business news information service said that the last revision is still well above the estimates of Wall Street banks — and at the top end of the range expected by Aramco.

The regional outlook: Oil demand in the Middle East is expected to grow by 265k bpd iy-o-y n 4Q, and 200 bpd y-o-y in 2024 to average 8.8 mn bpd, fueled by steady economic activity, robust air traffic and the return of expat workers. The outlook for 2025 shows an additional 249k bpd of consumption growth, primarily from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with total regional demand projected to hit 9.1 mn bpd next year.

KEEP AN EYE OUT TODAY for the IEA’s October report, due out later this morning.

#2- Baltic index continues its comeback: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose about 0.3% to 1,814 points on Monday, buoyed by a bump in the larger segment. The capesize index was up 43 points to 1,814 points, while the panamax index fell 26 points to 1,409 points. The smaller supramax dipped 7 points to 1,262 points.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Smart Ports & Logistics Transformation Summit on Monday, 21 October and Tuesday, 22 October in Riyadh. The two-day conference aims to discuss strategies, innovation, and technologies in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to position KSA as a logistics hub in the MENA region.

The UAE will host the International Conference on Tourism, Transport, andLogistics on Saturday, 26 October and Sunday, 27 October in Dubai. The event will gather scientists, scholars, and engineers from around the world to discuss new ideas and research development projects in the industry.

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Airport Exhibition on Monday, 11 November and Tuesday, 12 November in Riyadh. The two-day exhibition will bring together global industry leaders to discuss the latest technologies around the world in the aviation industry. It looks to encourage discussion between Saudi aviation leaders and the global supply chain industry.

The UAE will host the ADIPEC Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference on Monday, 11 November and Thursday, 14 November in Abu Dhabi. The event looks to explore ways to reduce emissions through innovative solutions. It will bring together industry leaders, regulators and decision makers in the global maritime and logistics sector.

Bahrain is set to host The Bahrain International Airshow on Wednesday, 13 November and Friday, 15 November at the Sakhir Airbase. The three-day event is bringing together over 180 participating companies from over 59 represented nations globally.

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