Preliminary trials for Liberty Lifter X-plane 
The USA’s defence advanced research projects agency (Darpa) programme aims to design, build, float, and fly an affordable X-plane that demonstrates revolutionary heavy-air-lift capability from the sea. It is now taking the next step. After changing the design for the Liberty... more
It takes two to tango 
Expanded range of services on Rhine routes. The choice between rail or inland barge is sometimes limited by non-availability. Now Birsterminal has increased services for each mode of transport for 2024. more
Haropa stayed on target in 2023
In Paris, close to the Seine, Haropa Port's deputy general director Kris Danaradjou and its strategic planning director Cédric Virciglio presented the developments in 2023 and gave an outlook on the running year. "We took a unique step to create one port on three sites in... more
Four weekly roundtrips to Rotterdam
The Austrian OeBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) will operate scheduled services between Linz (Austria) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands) via Duisburg (Germany), initially offering four round trips per week. With the service, cargo can be transferred within Rotterdam to all maritime... more
Changes at Chep
Chep has appointed Xavier Garijo to the newly created CEO Americas position, following the announcement that Chep North America’s president, Laura Nador, stepped down on 31 December 2023. Before joining Chep, Garijo was a member of the global executive board for contract... more
An active year for Bertschi
Despite a 15% reduction in sales, the Swiss transport group Bertschi reported several successful projects in 2023. It opened its new chemical logistics centre, with a storage capacity of 25,000 t storage, in Zhangjiagang, China, in mid-2023. Elsewhere in Asia, the group is... more
Container flows better than expected
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index, which measures global shipping activity, performed better than expected in December 2023, seeing a slight slowdown to 125.1 points from 125.4 points (revised) in November. Container throughput in Chinese ports decreased slightly, with... more
Automating paperless customs handling
Kazakhstan has launched a digital platform to improve customs processing at its Chinese frontier. The software is designed for the automatic submission and issuance of transit declarations for goods transported by rail along China - Central Asia and China – Europe routes. It... more
Changi takes stock
Singapore Changi airport recorded 328,000 airport aircraft movements in 2023, compared to the 382,000 in 2019. Against a volatile global economic environment, airfreight throughput stood at 1.74 million t for 2023, a year-on-year decline of 6%. Aircraft movements for... more
Roman Fürtig follows Stefan Kunze
Roman Fürtig is to head the port of Hamburg's HHM representative office Germany East. The graduate historian and political scientist replaces Stefan Kunze, who will be retiring at the end of April. Fürtig will manage the port’s marketing activities in Eastern Germany from Berlin... more