Good morning, nice people. We’re heading into the weekend with a brisk read after a short-lived uptick in the news cycle.

Up first: Menzies has clinched a mega ground handling contract in India’s Kempegowda International Airport, a rising star for the India-GCC connectivity over the last five years.

ALSO: Egypt’s engineering industry is in talks with the government over an incentives plan aimed at growing the country’s exports, with the industry eying West Africa and South America markets as high-potential drivers of that growth.

The big logistics story abroad

The Panama ports saga continues: Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama yesterday — following Panama’s Supreme Court’s annulment of the firm’s 30-year port concessions to operate the Balboa and Cristobal container terminals.

Wait, why did Panama suddenly want them out? Well, it’s really about geopolitics. While Panama’s top court ruling last week cited unconstitutional exclusive privileges and tax exemptions in the concession, CK Hutchinson has been in Panama since the 1990s, and the country’s sudden change of heart is no doubt linked to intense pressure from the US to kick out the company over China-linked security concerns.

Goodbye to CK Hutchison’s big plans? The two terminals have been a key part of CK Hutchison’s stalled USD 23 bn sale of 43 port assets to a consortium led by US asset manager BlackRock and the shipping giant MSC. China threw a regulatory wrench in the transaction late last year to push for the inclusion of state-owned shipping firm Cosco in the offer.

Watch this space

PROJECTS — Turkey and Egypt could be up for more collabs in logistics, after the pair signed a slew of MoUs aiming at raising bilateral trade to USD 15 bn by 2028, up from USD 9 bn. The pacts were signed on the margins of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Cairo yesterday.

What’s in the cards? Turkey is looking into opening up industrial zones in Borg El Arab, Al Alamein, and Gargoub under an MoU inked between the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and its Turkish counterpart, according to a federation statement. Joint Egyptian-Turkish logistics centers could also be in the cards, with the two looking to establish hubs in Africa.

The pair will also launch studies on the expansion of air and maritime links, including via a direct air freight route from Alexandria and the Turkish city of Bursa, and the use of Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) certificates for land freight.

PORTS — Could Red Sea jitters be disrupting Egypt’s port ambitions? Kuwait’s Alghanim Group will no longer be in charge of developing the Berenice International Port project, with the Transport Ministry instead effectively taking over the project, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM.

The ministry decided to take the reins of the project due to a lack of progress on infrastructure and technical proposals yet to be submitted, despite interest and requests from shipping agencies and international shipping lines to operate within the port, which was lined up to become a trade and transit hub, the source added.

The reasons for Alghanim’s withdrawal were not disclosed, but our source hinted that several factors could be to blame, including uncertainty about the Suez Canal waterway, the timeline for the recovery of traffic through the strait, and the return of international shipping agencies to the Bab El Mandeb region.

We can expect a decision on the fate of the port before the end of 1H, the source noted. Negotiations are currently underway with several undisclosed international consortia, including US firms, to re-tender the project for the port’s infrastructure development and management — part of a broader trend we are keeping a close eye on.

AVIATION — Jet engine maker GE Aerospace is under scrutiny over possible defects in some of its engines used on Boeing aircraft. The company said on Monday it was investigating possible durability issues with the seal used in the GE9X engine that Boeing intends to deploy on the 777X family, whose release is over six years behind schedule. With some 600 jets of the family currently on order, including 270 earmarked for Emirates, the announcement could rattle airlines that are waiting for their delayed deliveries.

ALSO- Air India engineers flagged possible issues with the fuel switches used in the 787 Dreamliner jet engines to Boeing. The flag comes as part of the carrier’s investigation into the fatal air crash involving the 787 last year that killed 260 people. The 787 model could be fitted with either Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 or GE Aerospace’s GEnx-1B, which is used by Air India.

Why this matters: Quality issues could impact GE Aerospace’s production and run counter to the market’s high hopes for stabilized engine supply chains after years of disruptions.

Market watch

Oil prices went up this morning amid rising US-Iran tensions after the US downed an Iranian drone and averted the seizure of a US-flagged vessel near Hormuz, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose USD 0.56 to trade at USD 67.89 / bbl as of 04:00 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged USD 0.63 to USD 63.84 / bbl.

The Baltic Index extends losses: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — declined 4.5% to 2,028 points on Tuesday, with bigger vessels dragging. The capesize dipped 7% to 3,175 points, while the panamax index slipped 1.4% to 1,724. Meanwhile, the smaller supramax index gained 1% to hit 1,083.

Data point

50.4 —That is the headline seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for Qatar in January 2026, according to S&P Global Qatar PMI (pdf). The headline reading marks an increase from December’s 50.0, but it remains one of the lowest readings in the last three years and sits comfortably below the long-run average of 52.2. While the figure technically indicates a slight improvement in the non-energy private sector, the details suggest a softening landscape as the economy enters the new year.

The breakdown: New orders and total output both contracted for the second consecutive month, albeit at a slower rate than December’s, with new orders posting their seventh fall in eight months. Job creation eased to its lowest level in nine months but remained solid overall. Purchasing activity fell for the second time in three months, contributing to a modest increase in input inventories, while lead times improved amid softer demand for inputs. In a bid to jumpstart sales, Qatari firms cut their selling prices at the steepest rate since August, despite wage inflation rising to a four-month high and pressuring margins.

PSA

More vessels make their way back to the Red Sea: Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will reroute the ME11 service through the Suez Canal starting mid-February, allowing for more efficient transit times. The shipping giants are looking to similarly reroute the AE12 and AE15 services to the Red Sea at a later stage.

A geopolitical caveat: The move “will remain dependent on the ongoing stability in the Red Sea area and the absence of any escalation in conflicts in the region,” the companies said.

ICYMI– Shipping companies have been reluctant to make their return to the Red Sea — most recently, CMA CGM rerouted three of its services back through the Cape of Good Hope, citing an “uncertain international context.” Maersk, however, appears to be more optimistic, rerouting its MECL service back through the canal only weeks after its Sebarok ship passed through the Red Sea for the first time in two years in December.

The bottomline: This isn’t a return to normalcy just yet, with carriers testing the waters with limited transits as the threat profile from the Houthis remains high, EOS Risk’s Martin Kelly previously told EnterpriseAM.

***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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