Amazon freighter overruns Miami International runway

An Amazon Air Boeing 767 freighter has overrun one of the runways at Miami International Airport (MIA), tragically resulting in the deaths of several people after it struck several vehicles. The aircraft overran runway 30 at around 14:00hrs local time on September 6. Reports suggest the aircraft was being operated by 21 Air. The local mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that at least five people had died and another five had been injured. Following the incident, the airport closed all runways and taxiways and issued a ground stop, although according to its latest update, one runway has since been reopened. Flights are expected to restart at around 17:30 local time. "Earlier today, Prime Air Flight 7598 overran Miami International Airport's diagonal runway. One runway is currently open, but we are still seeing impacts due to this incident," MIA said in a statement. Images on social media showed smoke and flames emanating from the aircraft after the incident. The images also show the aircraft having come to a stop close to a highway. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would launch an investigation. "21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The FAA will investigate," the organisation said in a social media post. Reports suggest the aircraft hit several vehicles. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue service said: "Over 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units are on scene of an incident involving a plane that overran a runway and struck multiple vehicles near Miami International Airport. Units arrived to find an airplane that had caught on fire as a result of this crash, with heavy flames and smoke showing." Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said: "We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. This is a fast-moving situation and we're still gathering details. "We're working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We're doing everything we can to support those affected."

Sunday Brunch: The American Dream looks very different from Hong Kong

Smokestack at the Berkshire Mill in Adams, Massachusetts. AI-generated pix created by the author of this column. (Editor's note: This is a long w'end read - enjoy! If after reading this you are hungry for more insight, you can also read his latest post published on LInkedIn, free to all, titled: 'Adams had textiles. Hong Kong had everything else.') Ford is lending money to its own suppliers so they do not go out of business. General Motors (GM) just committed $4.5 billion to pre-buy parts and warehouse them before they are needed. Read those two sentences together ...

No expectations of an imminent EU ecommerce rebound

Global ecommerce air cargo growth has flattened this year following a surge in capacity and regulatory intervention, delegates at the EU CBEC ecommerce forum in Liege heard today. Speaking at the forum, CEO of Rotate Ryan Keyrouse said ecommerce volumes had grown 23% since 2024 but were now flat. Mr Keyrouse noted that political intervention has emerged as the biggest threat - something industry respondents had already identified as the leading risk two years ago in a Rotate survey. "Politically marketed policies. That definitely happened," he said, pointing to the recent de minimis measures introduced in Europe and the US. Rotate highlighted the impact of the EU's regulatory changes that became apparent in July, shorty after their introduction. That month witnessed 24% decline in ecommerce volumes, alongside a 28% fall in freighter capacity to Europe. Mr Keyrouse illustrated that this is the equivalent of around 5,000 freighter flights a year having disappeared from the market. He revelaed that these capacity reductions have been unevenly distributed, creating winners and losers among European gateways. EU ecommerce gateways such as Liège, Amsterdam and Budapest all suffered significant declines, with Budapest's capacity falling by almost 60% between June and August. "We didn't really see that capacity out of China be redistributed elsewhere," Mr Keyrouse commented. Instead, the reduction has largely come through lower utilisation and the parking of older, converted freighters, particularly less fuel-efficient aircraft. Rotate's latest sentiment survey, based on more than 100 industry responses, found most respondents did not expect European ecommerce volumes to rebound immediately after the summer. "The answer is not for another six months," Mr Keyrouse said. Others believe the market will settle into a permanent but stable decline, while only a minority expect an immediate recovery. Any displaced ecommerce demand is nevertheless expected to find new markets, with respondents identifying Latin America and the Middle East and Africa as the most likely areas for future growth, although Southeast Asia and non-EU European markets also featured. However, ecommerce is not the only major growth engine for air cargo. Technology and AI-related hardware have expanded rapidly, with cloud computing, computers and semiconductors driving demand. Outside China, technology-related goods now account for 68% of Asia-Pacific exports, according to Rotate, reflecting the acceleration of the "China plus one" manufacturing strategy. Overall, Rotate forecasts total air cargo demand will grow 3% over the next 12 months, broadly in line with projected capacity growth of 3.3%.