Transportation

U.S. Airlines are planning to add flights on Tuesday as they deal with thousands of'scrubbed' flights the day after a powerful Northeast winter storm?forced over 8,000 cancellations. The storm Snowfall blanketed the Northeast of the United States, closing roads and canceling school. United Airlines, which was affected by the cancellations on Monday, said that they were planning to increase their operations on Tuesday. However, they warned that conditions "remain challenging". Cirium data as of late afternoon shows that 7% of U.S. flight cancellations are expected on Tuesday. This is down from?over 19% on Monday. Cirium data shows that on a...

U.S. spot gas prices at the Waha Hub, in 'the Permian Shale' in West Texas, closed Monday in negative territory. This is the 12th consecutive time that the price has been in negative territory. Pipeline constraints have trapped?gas within the nation’s largest oil-producing basin. Some?energy companies are forced to pay other firms to take the gas produced by their?oil? production. Analysts have said for years that negative gas prices are a sign that the Permian Region, which includes West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, requires more pipelines. There will be more pipes later this year but not fast enough to...

Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister, threatened to cut off electricity to Ukraine if Kyiv did not act within two days and resume the re-supply of Russian oil through Ukraine to Slovakia. This supply had been cut off for a little over a month. Slovakia and Hungary are the only two EU nations that still depend on large amounts of Russian crude oil transported via the Soviet Druzhba pipe over Ukraine. Both countries have leaders who have maintained close ties with Moscow bucking the largely pro Ukrainian European?consensus. Since January 27, the flow of Russian oil through Druzhba has been halted....

Mexican authorities raided this week a tunnel that was used to steal fuel from a state-owned pipe, giving a rare glimpse into the long-running fight against a black market trade often dominated?by organized crime. The 22-meter (72-foot) long tunnel was discovered outside a house in rural Hidalgo state near the town of Tepetitlan. In a Tuesday statement, the Hidalgo State Attorney said that it led to two taps of an underground pipeline. Security forces also confiscated drugs at this location. The Hidalgo State attorney declined to provide any further details on the announcement. Unidentified person who was familiar with the...

The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest U.S. ocean gateway. Exports fell by 8% in January, to the lowest output monthly in almost three years. Seroka, after the Port of Los Angeles handled 104.297 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of loaded export containers in January, said that "exports to China are?dismal". The aggressive tariffs of President Trump have disrupted global trade. Retaliatory trade duty from China and other countries has hit U.S. farmers and exporters particularly hard. Soybean Seroka stated that shipments to China from the Port of Los Angeles dropped by 80% in the past year. He also said...

As the island faces its worst fuel shortage in years, the rumble from 1959 Chevrolets is now fading to the near silence of the electric vehicles. Cuban roads have remained largely unchanged for the past six decades. They are characterized by vintage cars in vibrant colors. In recent years, Cubans have increasingly adopted electric cars as fuel has become more scarce. They are now helping the population deal with a worsening energy crisis after the U.S. halted oil exports from Venezuela, a communist-run ally, and threatened to penalize countries that exported fuel to the island. The administration of U.S. president...

Analysts said that a plan by PJM Interconnection - the largest power grid operator of the U.S. - to manage the?burgeoning demand for power from data centers may accelerate the deal-making process between data-center operators and independent?power providers. The plan released last month outlines a framework in which large power users could either?bring their own generation to the grid or operate within a "connect and manage" framework, that would allow them to reduce their energy usage before other emergency measures are taken when the system becomes overloaded. The proposal would also expedite a backstop capacity auction in order to prevent...

Air Canada's forecast for 2026 core profits was marginally higher than Wall -Street expectations on Thursday. The company attributed this to a strong demand on international routes outside of the U.S., and an increase in premium travel. International travel remains a relative bright light, even as domestic demand is showing signs of slowing down. This has cushioned carriers with large overseas networks. The Canadian carrier has been able to offset the softness on U.S. Canada routes with strong long-haul bookings, and a resilient demand for premium cabins. Analysts expect the Canadian flag carrier to achieve adjusted earnings before taxes, interest,...

Separatists are launching a petition drive in Alberta to trigger an independence vote. The western province has complained for years that the rest of Canada is holding back its economy. Volunteer canvassers hope to collect 177,000 signatures by May 2, or 10% of registered voters in the province, which is the required threshold to launch a citizen led referendum on separation from Canada. The campaign is unlikely to lead to an independent 'Alberta', but it does challenge Prime Minister Mark Carney in his efforts to present a united Canadian face in response to President Donald Trumps tariffs and threats to...

Rosaviatsia, the aviation regulator in Russia, said that Russia will 'fly its tourists out of Cuba within the next few days and then suspend all flights till a jet-fuel shortage subsides. Both airlines have said that they will only operate passenger flights in order to bring tourists home from Cuba. The?administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has declared Cuba a "unusual and exceptional threat" to U.S. security, and announced that the communist-run Island will no longer be receiving oil from Venezuela. Washington has threatened?impose tariffs on other fuel suppliers like Mexico if they continue to supply fuel to the island....

David Armellini, owner of a Florida trucking firm, is paying an extra 20% for each additional driver he hires to transport fresh-cut Valentine's Day Flowers to wholesale florists and grocery distribution centers across the country. If sellers pass on the increased cost, it could result in a slight increase in price for a bouquet at this weekend. Armellini believes that it could be an indication of the end of the U.S.'s longest and deepest trucking slump. Shippers across the United States are paying more to truck flowers, ?fresh ?produce, and other temperature-sensitive cargo, after deep cold this winter hiked demand...

Authorities reported that three?people died and several were injured in shootings 'in two areas of Indonesian's easternmost region, Papua. This included?near operations of Freeport - Indonesia, a gold & copper miner. Police spokesman Cahyo Sukanrito?said that the pilot and copilot of a Smart Air small commercial plane were killed when assailants fired on it as it landed on Korowai Airport in Boven Digoel province, South Papua, on Wednesday. In addition to the pilots, there were 13 other passengers on board. He said that when the shooting began, both the pilots as well as the passengers fled the plane into a...

In an email response to questions, the National Bank of Hungary said that it had launched a probe to determine if certain transactions involving shares in oil group MOL violated 'rules against insider trading. The central bank is investigating whether the provisions on prohibited insider trading have been violated in connection with certain capital market transactions linked to MOL Plc. The central bank is investigating whether certain capital market transactions involving the issuer have violated the prohibitions on insider trading. The NBH added, "As the official process is still ongoing, it cannot provide any further details." MOL stated in an...

The United Kingdom sanctioned the oil pipeline operator Transneft as part of its package of almost 300 measures on Tuesday. It announced its "largest" set of sanctions to coincide with 'the fourth anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine. The Russian government claimed that Transneft was a major pipeline company in the world and transported more than 80% the crude oil exported by Russia. The goal was to cut further into Moscow's revenues from energy. The West has imposed thousands of sanctions against Russia, including on its oil sector. However, this has not resulted in a significant reduction of Russian oil exports....

Ukraine's power plants, which have been severely damaged by Russian airstrikes, continue to import electricity from other countries, said the transmission system operator, Ukrainenergo, on Tuesday after Slovakia halted emergency supplies. Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, said on Monday that it would not accept any emergency requests from Ukraine until the Druzhba oil pipeline is restored. This runs through Ukraine and Russia to central Europe. Slovakia and Hungary are no longer able to access Russian crude oil through Druzhba due to damage caused by Ukraine last month. Ukrenergo announced on Telegram that "electricity is being imported by all...

Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, said that his country's electricity grid operator will refuse any Ukrainian requests for an emergency supply of electricity from Monday onwards until oil flows resume through the Druzhba Pipeline. This escalates a dispute over?the crude. The announcement comes after European Ministers in Brussels failed to convince Slovakia and Hungary to drop their threats to punish Ukraine over the delay in restarting the flow. Since January 27, Ukraine has cut off the flow of Russian oil into Slovakia and Hungary. Ukraine claims that a Russian drone struck pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine. Ukraine has said...

The emergency crews restored power to most areas?affected?by the cuts?after a major Ukrainian assault on energy infrastructure?, said the Russia-installed Governor of the part of Zaporizhzhia?region controlled?by Moscow. Yevgeny Balatsky wrote on Telegram that power had been restored to all households except for 12,000 in a single district. He said that emergency crews were working to complete the task. Balitsky said earlier that two power outages occurred in the area in southeast Ukraine. Workers have already restored power in 50% of the region, and generators are supporting critical infrastructure. According to Leonid Pasechnik the?leader of Russia-controlled Luhansk, in Ukraine's north,...

Hungary's foreign minister announced on Friday that it will not approve a 90 billion-euro (106?billion dollars) EU loan to Ukraine unless the country resumes oil deliveries via?the Druzhba Pipeline. Budapest had previously said that it would use strategic reserves to address a shortage. Hungary and Slovakia have been working to ensure supply of Russian oil since January 27, when flows were stopped following what Ukraine claimed was a Russian drone strike that damaged pipeline infrastructure. Both countries blame Ukraine for the delay in resuming flows due to political reasons. On Thursday, we requested the comments of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry...

Hungary and Slovakia asked Croatia for help in securing Russian oil. Hungarian firm?MOL released strategic crude reserves following disruptions to the flow of oil via Ukraine, which both countries blamed on Kyiv. Kyiv's Foreign Ministry?last week claimed that a Russian attack against a Ukrainian.pipeline is responsible for the halt of flows into Eastern Europe since?January 27. Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, posted a picture on X showing firefighters and what he called Druzhba Pipeline infrastructure on fire. He accused Hungary of failing to comment publicly on the incident during two weeks due to its ally Russia being at fault. Hungary...

Hungary's Foreign Minister said that Slovakia and Hungary have asked Croatia to help deliver Russian oil after Ukraine was disrupted and there were conflicting accusations about who is to blame. Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said that a Russian attack on the Druzhba Pipeline in Ukraine on 27 January knocked out oil flows to Eastern Europe. Andrii Sybiha, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, posted a picture on X showing firefighters and what he described as Druzhba infrastructure on fire. He added that Hungary hadn't publicly commented because Russia was responsible. Hungarian Foreign minister Peter Szijarto rebuffed Kyiv on Monday, stating that Ukraine...

According to five people who are involved in the trade, registration data and interviews revealed that tens of thousands cars were being exported to Russia from China under gray-market schemes. These schemes often bypass Western and Asian government sanctions and the commitments made by automakers to leave the Russian market. In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in?2022, the sanctions and pledges were made. The trade of these cars, from Toyotas to Mazdas and German luxury models, continues to thrive partly because informal networks allow Russian dealers to order the vehicles through Chinese intermediaries. This is shown by interviews and...

The Chinese captain of an?Hong Kong registered cargo ship pleaded 'not guilty'?on a charge?of criminal damage on Wednesday, after allegations that his vessel had?damaged underwater cables in the Baltic Sea. According to a Hong Kong chargesheet reviewed by the. The charge sheet said that?Wan was "reckless", and had "damaged property belonging to others without lawful excuse". Investigators in Finland said that the container vessel had pulled its anchor so as to cut off the Balticconnector pipeline. The Finnish police retrieved an anchor that had broken from the seabed, near the Balticconnector gas pipeline. An attorney for Wan, Jerry Chung said...

Farmers union UAC reported on Tuesday that wheat exports remain extremely low in Ukraine, with just 27,000 metric tonnes?leaving out of the?700,000.?tons contracted for this month. Ukraine is one of the world's largest wheat producers and exporters. "Logistics is not always perfect." Blackouts prevent ports from operating at full capacity. Wheat is also competing with corn which is loaded before, according to a UAC report. Russia has intensified its strikes against Ukrainian ports and energy infrastructure. This has caused blackouts in entire regions, and severe restrictions on the?energy supply to ports and railways. UAC stated that due to logistical issues,...

Urals crude differentials are under pressure after Thursday's'sellers' faced weak demand from India following a?trade?deal? that New Delhi made with Washington, which will result in India cutting purchases of Russian oil. The Russian oil market is increasingly exposed to China, so traders were forced to offer greater discounts to China as the largest buyer of Russian crude oil. The discounts on Russian oil exported to China have reached a new record this week, as sellers reduced prices to attract demand from the world's largest crude importer. They also cut their prices to offset the loss of India sales. PLATTS WINDOW...