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
Iloilo, Philippines, before the great leap
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has awarded a 25-year concession contract to develop and operate the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex (ICPC) in Western Visayas. International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) received from PPA a notice of award for its sole bid to... more
A rebranding in the Middle East
Noatum, a maritime group in AD Ports Group’s logistics cluster, has launched a new brand focusing on the Middle Eastern market. Noatum Logistics Middle East will take over from Micco Logistics, which previously served the Abu Dhabi and GCC regions. Micco was acquired by AD... more
Truckport opened in Houston
Ryder System and Kodiak Robotics have set up their first truckport in Houston, TX (USA), enabling Kodiak to launch and land autonomous trucks as well as transfer freight to serve routes between Houston, Dallas, and Oklahoma City. Today, Kodiak trucks run on all routes with... more
Piloting wholesales to a new level
Amsterdam-based Wholesale By Vels (WBV) has launched Cargopilot, a trade-only wholesale airfreight booking platform. It differs from existing online booking portals in two respects: firstly, it targets non-Iata freight agents, using WBV’s own Iata licence and Cass... more
ONE opts for ammonia
The Japanese conglomerate of container shipping, Ocean Network Express (ONE), has just announced the award of approval in principle (AiP) for an ammonia dual-fuelled vessel. Along with its investment in twelve methanol dual-fuelled vessels, the carrier considers this to be... more