International Dispatches: Freight rail reports, projects and other news from outside North America
11/29/2021
M&A
On Nov. 28, Dubai-based GreenDome Investments closed on its mulitmillion-dollar acquisition of Elite Co. from Prama Holdings. Elite Co. is an overland freight and courier services business with operations and assets across Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates; its regional hub is in Dubai. GreenDome Investments is a logistics investment vehicle owned by regional industry leaders. The acquisition of Elite is GreenDome’s first transaction as the company embarks “on a journey to build an integrated, customer-centric and technology-focused end-to-end global logistics services business,” said Saadi Abdul Rahim Hassan Al Rais, chairman of GreenDome Investments and managing director of Rais Hassan Saadi Group. “We intend to support the region's fast-paced economies while expanding our offering beyond the Middle East.”
China to Montreal …
The Port of Montreal recently welcomed a container ship straight from China, without cargo transshipment in the Mediterranean, port officials announced on Nov. 23. Chartered by freight forwarder Fracht FWO, the Happy Rover docked on Sunday, Nov. 14 at Racine Terminal, operated by Montreal Gateways Terminal Partnership, to unload its containers. “The first direct shipping link, without transshipment, between Asia and the Port of Montreal demonstrates the fluidity of trade and the availability of our facilities in Montreal,” said Guillaume Brossard, the Montreal Port Authority’s vice president of growth and development.
… and South China to Long Beach
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has launched Pacific China South Express (PCSX) service, which is designed to “offer express linkage from South China to Long Beach,” OOCL officials announced on Nov. 22.
DHL Express pilots hydrogen truck in Benelux region
Bonn, Germany-based DHL Express is piloting a hydrogen-fueled truck, the company announced on Nov. 23. Together with its customer Apple, DHL is piloting the vehicle in the Benelux region, as part of the Interreg NW Europe program H2-Share, coordinated by WaterstofNet. The program's goal: facilitate the development of low-carbon heavy-duty vehicles on hydrogen for logistics applications and gain practical experience in different regions. Operated by Dutch Nassau Sneltransport, the truck covers a daily distance of around 200 kilometers, running a cross-border route in the Benelux region. The truck refuels daily at a mobile fuel station from Wystrach. During the piloting phase, up to 35 tons of CO2 could be saved with the new technology, DHL Express officials said.
Financing and sustainability
On Nov. 22, Marseilles-based Searoutes announced a 1.3 million Euro financing round led by WSB Beteiligungs, a venture capital firm. Searoutes is a start-up that aims to help shippers reduced their carbon footprint. The company has designed a proprietary “eco-calculator” to compute the carbon footprint of a container along its journey. Incubated and accelerated by ZEBOX, the international incubator and accelerator founded by the CMA CGM Group, Searoutes already has about 60 “key accounts,” company officials said.
ZIM, Hapag-Lloyd post strong (as in very strong) Q3 earnings
Haifa, Israel-based ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. posted record financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, the global container shipping line shipping company announced on Nov. 17. Net income was $1.46 billion compared with $144 million for the same 2020 period, a year-over-year increase of 913%. Q3 operating income was $1.86 billion, an 884% increase compared with the same 2020 period. Revenue was $3.14 billion, a 210% increase compared with Q3 2020’s total. ZIM carried 884,000 TEUs in the quarter, a 16% increase compared with the same 2020 period. The average freight rate per TEU was $3,336, a 174% hike from Q3 2020’s rate. … For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Hapag-Lloyd recorded revenue of $17.9 billion, a 70 percent increase compared with the same 2020 period, the ocean carrier announced on Nov. 12. “The rise can primarily be attributed to a higher average freight rate of 1,818 USD/TEU (9M 2020: 1,097 USD/TEU),” company officials said in a press release titled “Hapag-Lloyd achieves extraordinary strong result in first nine months of 2021.” The company attributed the increase primarily to “persistently high demand for container transports with scarce capacities at the same time.” Hapag-Lloyd officials expect the “earnings momentum” to “remain at a high level” for the rest of the year.
Tunnel (and) vision
Etihad Rail has completed excavation work for all nine tunnels of Package D/Stage Two of the UAE National Rail Network, Etihad Rail officials announced on Nov. 21. The nine tunnels, which extend over 6.9 kilometers, were built across the Emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. The network “will be a key element of the global supply chain and play a vital role in sustaining the position of the United Arab Emirates as a global and regional transport, shipping and logistics hub,” Etihad Rail officials said.
Operating software deployed down under
Australian freight-rail operator Aurizon Bulk East will implement the Navis Rail Operations System, a cloud-based software to support its corporate planning process, Navis Rail announced on Nov. 22. Navis will deliver integrated modules to support Aurizon’s locomotive, and crew shift and roster planning functions to improve planning and asset efficiencies. The platform also employs an integrated model of resources so that changes to the locomotive deployment plans or network details will be available for crew schedule and roster optimization and vice versa, Navis Rail officials said.
A tall(est) order
“Construction work of the World's Tallest Railway Bridge Pier at Noney Valley in Manipur with a height of 141 Mtrs. is progressing swiftly. As a part of the ambitious 111 Km long Jiribam-Imphal line, the travel time of 10-12 hours will be reduced to a mere 2.5 hours.” — Nov. 29 tweet from India’s Ministry of Railways