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DHL Group: 'Smart industrial growth' at Express is all that matters

In a nutshell: DHL's Express turnaround is being built on a multi-year pivot away from parcels and toward heavier, AI-linked (smart) industrial cargo, data-centre logistics, semiconductors, batteries, backed by a new run of division-by-division investor briefings rather than one company-wide event. The complication: a real chunk of second quarter's (Q2 26) strength came from temporary airfreight capacity tightness that was already easing in the data tracked through the end of July. DHL Express has spent the past several quarters ...

Cargojet's Q2 revenues and profits rise while pilot deal reached

Freighter operator Cargojet saw both its revenues and profits grow in the second quarter of the year as higher fuel prices, contractual price increases and new charter opportunities affected performance. The company saw second-quarter revenues increase 15.8% year on year to C$275.8M, adjusted ebitda was up 8.9% to C$87.3m and net earnings reached C$7m compared with a C$3.2m loss a year earlier. The increase in revenues was driven by a 45.9% increase in fuel costs year on year, which are passed through to customers through a fuel charge mechanism, albeit with a small time lag. Looking at divisional performance, the second-quarter revenue improvement was led by its all-in charter business, which registered an increase of 37.4% on last year to C$57.4m. "The increase in [charter] revenue was primarily due to new charter opportunities, partially offset by the reductions in year-over-year frequency of scheduled charter services between China and Canada," the company said. It also supported a customer, which previously operated MD-11F aircraft, which were last year temporarily grounded following the fatal UPS accident. Domestic network revenues for the period, meanwhile, increased by 8.1% on last year to C$110.6m as a result of consumer price index increases for contractual customers and higher fuel prices. Meanwhile, ACMI revenues for the quarter fell 12.6% against last year to $54.6m, a decrease primarily driven by redeployment of aircraft from long-distance routes of Asia and Europe to certain South American routes. "Our strong second quarter results reflect the resilience of our business model, the strength of our longterm customer partnerships, and our team's disciplined execution", said Pauline Dhillon, chief executive. "Our One Fleet strategy continues to differentiate Cargojet by enabling us to dynamically deploy our assets to the highest-return opportunities while improving fleet and flight-level asset utilisation. "Combined with our focus on revenue quality, disciplined cost management and operational excellence, we delivered another strong quarter while maintaining our industry-leading 99.2% on-time performance." The company also benefited from a new service from Liège to Tel Aviv, following the launch of operations to Liege last year. Meanwhile, the airline also confirmed it had reached an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) on a new deal. Pilots will get a wage increase of 26%, followed by annual increases of 5% over each of the subsequent four years through June 30, 2031. Meanwhile, pilots will move from a baseline of 15 working days per month to 16 and the deal continues to inclued a no-strike, no-lockout provision.

Congestion fear as 'unnavigable' Rhine means cargo shift to road and rail

Water levels along the Rhine are continuing to fall, as repeated heatwaves across Europe prolong drought, with shipping bosses now warning the river could effectively be being "split in two", as carriers slap new surcharges on all modes. MSC announced on Friday it had introduced a wave of "traffic congestion surcharges" for rail, trucking, and rail-truck transport from/to Antwerp and Rotterdam via Andernach, Frankfurt, Germersheim Munich, Nurnberg, Neuss, Strasbourg, Trier, and Woerth. The carrier told customers: "Water levels have fallen to such an extent that barge transportation from Rhine-connected inland terminals has become extremely restricted and, in many cases, no longer possible at all." "The low water situation in Europe has led to significant transport capacity reduction in the hinterland market, causing more pressure on alternative routings via rail and truck," it added as it announced its new surcharges. The fees will become applicable from 20 August and will be charged at €44 per container being moved by truck for all origins and destinations, with rail and rail-truck surcharges of €50 per container for Germany/Alsace origin or destined loads. Since MSC announced its surcharges, water levels have fallen even more, with the Kaub gauge now at 17cm, the Emmerich gauge empty, Duisburg-Ruhrort at 142cm, and the Koln gauge at 62cm, all surpassing the historic lows set earlier this summer. Federal Association of German Inland Shipping MD Jens Schwanen told local media that with the Kaub set to drop to single digits for the first time in its recorded history, "commercial shipping will no longer be able to transport any goods". He added: "In principle, the Rhine is then no longer navigable along its entire length and thus split in two," and he gave no indication that the waterway could expect any help from the sky this week. The latest forecasts suggest temperatures will drop no lower than 30ºC, and likely to top 36ºC at some points during the week, meaning there is no chance of the precipitation necessary to raise water levels. Sources told The Loadstar they were working on the basis that the situation would only worsen over the course of August and, with more and more shippers turning to rail and road, there were expectations of worsening traffic congestion. One source noted that if the Rhine was not back to navigable levels when the summer holidays end and commuter traffic returns, there could be deadlock across Northern Europe's road network, creating "untold economic damage".