Transport Infrastructure

The White House planned a Wednesday anniversary launch to highlight the Republican leader's promises since his return to office. Trump and his Republican allies faced a series of Democratic victories during off-year elections. This was a rare setback as voters in several states showed resistance to Trump's agenda. Trump's reaction was predictable. Trump is known for his ability to resist defeat. He criticized Democrats for the longest government shutdown in U.S. History, which he claimed contributed to the party's loss. He urged Republicans to change Senate Rules to make it easier to advance his agenda. But he also acknowledged that...

Sources in maritime industry said that the European Union's anti-piracy force had deployed a warship off the coast of Somalia, after a suspected pirate band tried to target vessels in the area. Sources from the maritime industry said that armed assailants fired at a commercial oil tanker Monday off the coast of Mogadishu after they attempted to board it. This was the first incident of suspected Somali piratery of this kind since 2024. The attack, as well as other incidents, has raised concern for the shipping lanes through which vital energy and goods are shipped to global markets. This week,...

The U.S. president Donald Trump again asked Republican senators on Wednesday to terminate the filibuster in an attempt to end the longest government shut down in history. This would be a radical departure from long-standing Senate traditions and make it easier to push through legislation by the majority. "We must open the country." We're going do it today by ending the filibuster," Trump said to the senators gathered in the White House for breakfast. "It is possible that you won't do it, and I will follow your wishes." "You're smart people and good friends but I think this is a...

Officials from Louisville and Kentucky said that the death toll has now reached nine. The UPS cargo plane crashed into a fireball just moments after taking off in Louisville on Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board investigators will be at the scene on Wednesday to start the process of determining what went wrong after the MD-11 cargo aircraft, which is 34 years old, caught fire at 5:13 pm. ET on Tuesday, and then crashed. The crash site was reported by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg as having nine bodies. Andy Beshear, Governor of Kentucky, said via social media that it is...

The Federal Aviation Administration reported on Tuesday that a UPS plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, en route to Honolulu. Local police confirmed the crash and said there were injuries. The FAA released a statement that "UPS Flight 2876 crashed at around 5:15 pm local time, on Tuesday, November 4, after departing the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (Kentucky)", according to the FAA. UPS confirmed that one of its aircraft had been involved in an accident near Louisville, Kentucky. It has not yet confirmed any injuries. UPS Worldport is located at the airport. It's a hub for UPS's...

The administration of President Donald Trump, which had threatened to remove aging railcars in Pennsylvania from service, announced on Tuesday that it would extend the deadline for an inspection by a state transit agency. The Federal Railroad Administration issued a special order on October 1 requiring that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority address the fire risk from its 225 Silverliner IV Railcars within 30 days. The order was issued in response to a safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board after five fires. FRA gave the agency until November 14 to finish inspections, and until early in December...

The Federal Aviation Administration halted Tuesday traffic at Reagan Washington National Airport following a report of a threat made against a United Airlines flight. The FAA reported that operations had been halted due to a reported issue with security. Passengers have already left the plane and the aircraft has moved away from the terminal for the investigation. According to a person who was briefed in the matter, a threat against the plane had been made and the plane is being checked out of an abundance caution. United directed questions to the FBI. The FBI did respond immediately to a comment...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that if federal government shutdown continued another week, it could cause "mass confusion" and force him to shut down some national airspace for air traffic. This drastic measure could disrupt American aviation. "If you take us back to a week's time, Democrats, there will be mass chaos and mass flight delays." Duffy told a Tuesday press conference that you'll likely see a lot of cancellations and we may even close some parts of the airspace because we can't manage it. U.S. Aviation has already experienced tens and thousands of delays in the last...

Sources from the maritime industry said that armed assailants fired at a commercial oil tanker Monday off the coast of Mogadishu after they attempted to board it. This was the first incident of suspected Somali piratery of this kind since 2024. Maritime sources reported that if confirmed, it would be the first Somali pirate attack on a merchant vessel since May 2024. This could pose a risk to the vital energy and goods being transported through this region. In a report, British maritime risk group Vanguard stated that the vessel was about 332 nautical mile (615 km), off the coast...

On Saturday, the White House released details of an agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was reached this week to de-escalate both countries' trade conflict. This included U.S. Tariff reductions and a pause on Beijing's restrictions on rare earth mineral and magnets. The agreement, which includes the resumption by China of its purchases of American soybeans and averts Trump’s threatened 100% tariff against Chinese goods, extends for approximately a year a fragile trade truce between two of the largest economies in the world. Here are some key elements of the Trump - Xi agreement...

Berkshire Hathaway said on Saturday it was cautious in the markets. It let cash reach a record of $381.7 billion, even though profits rose. This is its final financial report before Warren Buffett steps down as CEO. Buffett's conglomerate has sold more shares than it purchased for the 12th consecutive quarter. Its $283.2 billion portfolio of equity holdings includes Apple and American Express. Berkshire did not buy back any of its stock either, marking the fifth consecutive quarter that it hasn't done so, despite its stock price being significantly below the market. Net income increased 17% to $30.8 billion. Lower...

Federal Aviation Administration delayed flights on Friday at airports in Austin and Newark, as staffing issues continue to cause delays and the government shutdown enters its 31st week. The FAA reported that there were staffing problems at nine FAA facilities on Friday, and said this was likely to cause delays in flights later for Houston and Dallas airports. Flight delays averaged 61 minutes in Nashville, 50 minutes in Austin and 101 minutes in Newark. FlightAware, a tracking website for aviation, reported that 2,200 U.S. flight delays and 300 cancellations had occurred as of 12:25 p.m. ET. On Thursday, there were...

According to two industry sources, and LSEG ship tracking, Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse suspended fuel exports while the local refinery halted crude processing following the November 2 Ukrainian drone attack on its infrastructure. Ukraine announced on Sunday that its drones had struck Tuapse - one of Russia's major Black Sea oil port - causing an explosion and damage to at least one vessel. This was part of Kyiv’s effort to undermine Russia’s war economy through targeting its energy infrastructure. The regional administration confirmed that the strike caused an fire in the port. Since several months, Ukraine has been...

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration stated on Wednesday that China had not provided any information regarding a new airport that will open in the next year, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from a Taiwanese Airport. This raises flight safety concerns. Xiamen's Xiang'an Airport is located only 3 km away from Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, the site of the Cold War's on-off battles. Construction work can also be heard and seen from Taiwan. Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration sent a statement to saying that close airports need to be planned and coordinated in advance to ensure safety and smooth operation. It said...

Two sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that Vietjet, a Vietnamese low-cost airline, stopped operating its two COMAC C909 planes made in China on October 18, after the six-month contract to lease the planes had expired. The C909s arrived in Vietnam less that a week after Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to Hanoi, in April. This launch was seen as a sign of the deepening of strategic and economic ties. The two sources confirmed that Vietjet had decided not to renew the lease, and did not have any immediate plans to buy aircraft from China’s state-owned planemaker COMAC. Vietjet...

According to Chinese consultants and ship tracking data, the latest U.S. sanction on a major Chinese crude terminal has forced Sinopec to divert one supertanker from its route and to ask certain plants to reduce crude processing rates. LSEG data revealed that a supertanker transporting oil to the Chinese Port of Rizhao, in Shandong Province, changed its destination at the weekend after U.S. sanctions were imposed on Friday on an import terminal located there. JLC Consultancy estimated that Sinopec’s October runs could drop by 3.36% compared to earlier plans, and may be around 5.16 million barrels a day. Sinopec has...

The supertanker rates have risen this week, and they are likely to remain high due to the U.S. and China titling-for-titling increases in port fees as well as concerns over the impact of U.S. sanction on a major Chinese crude terminal. According to traders, the Chinese port fees announced Friday would increase shipping costs by more than $7 per barrel for a Very Large Crude Carrier that is linked to the United States. This would amount to around $15 million, which would discourage anyone from chartering vessels linked to the United States. The VLCC spot rates for the Middle East-China...

United States Trade Representative said that it will modify maritime fees for foreign-built vehicles carriers and LNG vessels in advance of the port fees on China linked ships scheduled to take effect next week. USTR announced in a press release that the fees for operators of foreign-built vehicles carriers will be $46 per ton starting October 14. This is lower than the $150 per net tonne fee originally proposed by USTR in April. The industry considered this fee prohibitive. However, it is still higher than the $14 per net tonne fee proposed on June 12th. USTR will also eliminate, retroactively...

Matt Chamberlain, Chief Executive of the London Metal Exchange (LME), said that the LME is looking at a market consultation for amendments to the rules of the 450 warehouses it has around the globe. The LME has been introducing queue-based rent caps (QBRC), which limit rental income for registered warehouses at 80 days following the notice given by the owner of the metal to take delivery. The rule has unintended effects. The rule has unintended consequences. Traders who have contracts to deliver metal beyond 80 days can cancel warrants and get free storage. Meanwhile, consumers cannot access metal stored in...

China's Transport Ministry announced that vessels owned or operated or built in the United States, or those flying the U.S. Flag will be charged an additional port fee per voyage as of October 14. The ministry stated on Friday that the fees were a countermeasure to upcoming U.S. Port fees. Starting on October 14, all ships that are built in China, or that are operated or owned in China will be required to pay a fee when they arrive at their first US port. Analyst estimates suggest that fees could reach $1 million for ships carrying more than 10,000 containers....

Transnet's CEO announced on Thursday that a South African court had ordered China's CRRC E-Loco, which has been in a long-running dispute with Transnet, to release locomotive parts it had refused to provide. This decision is a boost to the plans of Transnet to improve its performance. Both parties are involved in a legal battle after Transnet halted 1,064 locomotives supplied by four original equipment manufacturers, including CRRC E-Loco. Transnet claimed that contracts for 2014 worth $54.4 billion rand (3.18 billion dollars) were illegally awarded by previous company leadership. Transnet reported that in 2023 161 locomotives provided by CRRC E-Loco...

China's National Railway recorded 23,13 million trips during the first day the eight-day National Day Holiday on Wednesday. This is up almost 8% over a year ago and a record for a single day, according to state media CCTV. CCTV reported that more than 19 million trips would be made Thursday on the rail network. According to CCTV, the Yangtze River Delta Railway was expected to handle 4 million passengers. This is a 10% increase over last year. After the official end of the holiday on October 8, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will release total travel data. On...

Three traders said that the premiums for Russia's ESPO blend crude oil loaded from Kozmino have fallen for November-loadings because independent Chinese refiners - key buyers of this grade - are facing dwindling import quotas. Traders said that cargoes due to be loaded from the Far Eastern Port of Kozmino, in November, were sold for a premium of about $1.70 per barrelle to ICE Brent, on a delivery-basis to Chinese ports. This is down from around $2 per barrelle at October levels. Independent refiners in China are subject to a strict quota-based system. State-run refiners like Sinopec PetroChina and CNOOC,...

The state-run Korea Airports Corporation announced that South Korean airport employees will begin a strike on Wednesday. In a press release, the 2,300 workers unionised at 15 of the country's airports want better pay, more rest days and safer working conditions, according to a representative from the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union. The representative said that the workers would continue to strike until a deal was reached with management. This strike coincides with the Chuseok holiday, which is celebrated in South Korea at the beginning of October. According to the union, and Korea Airports Corporation which oversees operations...