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US container imports dropped 6.5% in February but are still the fourth highest on record according to Descartes
According to Descartes Systems Group, a provider of supply chain technology, U.S. container volumes dropped 6.5% in February compared to last year. This is typical for the holiday shopping season following the winter holidays. The U.S. seaports handled 2,093,422 TEUs (standard measure of container volume)?last?month. Descartes reported that this was the fourth strongest February in history. This performance highlights the relative resilience in U.S. demand for imports, despite ongoing policy and economic uncertainties," the 'firm' said. It added that import volumes in February 2025 were likely inflated due to importer frontloading aimed at rushing goods into the country before U.S. president Donald Trump’s new tariffs took effect. Imports from China were 728,562 TEUS last month. This is a 16.5% drop year-over-year. Descartes reported that China's share in total U.S. container imports rose marginally to 34.8%. Imports from India, Thailand, and South Korea each experienced larger declines. Descartes stated that "trade conditions are increasingly shaped by geopolitical shifts and escalation," The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on February 20, that Trump had overstepped his powers by using emergency powers to impose "sweeping tariffs." His administration announced an immediate 10% tariff on all imports, with plans to increase it to 15% for 150 days. On a different front, the?U.S. The attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran has slowed down the essential oil trade across the Strait of Hormuz, causing fuel prices to soar. MSC, the industry leader in container carriers, has implemented emergency fuel fees and stopped picking up and delivering cargo to Gulf ports. This could cause a 'backup' that would cascade throughout global supply chains. It has also reignited fears that Iran-backed Houthi militants may resume attacks against commercial ships in Red Sea. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Lisa Baertlein)
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Kenya Pipeline Company shares slightly higher in early trading after IPO
Kenya Pipeline Company shares?traded slightly?higher on Tuesday in?early _trade after listing on Nairobi stock exchange. At 0715 GMT, the shares traded at 9.4 shillings compared to the Initial Public Offering price of?9 shillings. Kenyan government sold a 65% stake in pipeline company raising 823.07 million dollars. This was the 'first major IPO' for the East African nation in nearly 20 years. The IPO received a high level of interest despite concerns about lower valuations by some banks, a longer offer period, and media reports about?investor apathy. The government said that it would use between 15 and 20 billion shillings from the proceeds of the IPO to expand the main airport in Nairobi. The President William Ruto administration, with a limited fiscal space to finance a tax- or debt driven development, has turned to securitising income streams and selling state assets.
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North Korea and China resume passenger trains service after a six-year break
The Unification Ministry of South Korea announced on Tuesday that passenger train services between Pyongyang, North Korea and Beijing will resume this week. This marks the end of a six-year suspension due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. After years of border closures, which began in early 2020, the resumption of traffic restores an important transport link between North Korea's primary economic ally and itself. China's State Railway?told Yonhap News Agency the Pyongyang to Beijing train would?begin round-trip service starting March 12 and operate four times per week. Yonhap reported that only 'the last two carriages would initially carry passengers, mostly diplomats or others on official business. Ticket sales to the public are possible if there are seats available. North Korea is closed to foreign tourism for the most part, except in limited circumstances, mainly for Russian tour groups with restricted arrangements. This is according to travel agencies that organise trips to North Korea. The agencies reported that before the pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for the majority of foreign visitors to North Korea. The tour organizers announced?on a Monday that North Korea has cancelled the Pyongyang Marathon next month?for reasons not specified. The race is one of the few international events in the isolated country that are open to foreign participants. (Reporting and editing by Ed Davies.)
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Qantas increases fares on international flights as fuel prices rise due to the Mideast conflict
Qantas Airways announced on Tuesday that it would increase fares for its international flights 'this week' due to the'surge' in jet fuel prices caused by the Middle East conflict. In a press release, the Australian flag carrier said that it would be considering increasing capacity on existing routes to?Europe in the months ahead. The U.S. and Israel war on Iran 'has sent oil prices soaring, upending travel around the world and sparking fears of a travel slump. Due to the closure of airspace and capacity constraints, airfares on Asia-Europe routes are already higher. Air New Zealand's competitor, Qantas, announced an increase in ticket prices earlier that day, making it the first airline to do so since World War II. Qantas stated in an email that its European flights were "operating as planned" and were over 90% full in March, which is about 15 percentage points higher than the typical levels at this time of year. Qantas reported that more customers are choosing to travel via the United States and other Asian cities as well as Johannesburg. They connect through Qantas partner airlines'?network. In the next few months, we will be exploring options to redeploy existing capacity onto European routes.
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Archer, a maker of air-taxis, accuses Joby of having illegal China connections
In a countersuit filed on Monday, Archer Aviation, a maker of electric air taxis accused Joby Aviation of defrauding?the?U.S. In a countersuit filed?Monday, Archer Aviation accused Joby?Aviation of defrauding the u.s. Archer stated in the countersuit, filed before the U.S. Federal Court that "Joby or its agents fraudulently misclassified tens of thousands of pounds Chinese aircraft materials as consumer products...in an obvious effort to avoid?U.S. Tariffs and oversight of foreign influence." Joby Aviation filed a lawsuit against Archer at a California state level court in November of last year, alleging that Archer had hired a Joby employee who took confidential information about Joby's business strategies, partnership conditions and aircraft specifications to Archer. In December, the case was transferred to a U.S. district court. Alex Spiro said that the company "doesn’t respond to nonsense." In a press release, he stated that Archer's constant legal issues and flailing operations left the company no choice but resort to nonsensical invented theories. "We'll see them in court." Archer claimed in its countersuit, that Joby had received financial and grant benefits from the Chinese Government and "demonstrating an undisclosed and profound foreign dependency." It also accused Joby of "wrapping themselves in the American flag" rather than disclosing their ties to Beijing which had given them an unfair competitive edge over its rival. A spokesperson for Archer did not respond when asked to provide further comment. The countersuit was filed on the same day the U.S. Department of Transportation released eight grant programs designed to encourage the?development of drones and air taxis. Three of the eight grant programs list both Joby and Archer. Last year, President Donald Trump announced these programs in an attempt to "catch up" with China's development of air mobility and drones. Joby and Archer, two electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft manufacturers, are competing to deploy their vehicles and meet the demand for faster and more sustainable urban transport. Reporting by Shubham Kalya in Bengaluru, and Dan Catchpole from Seattle.
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China's crude imports in January and February surge due to increased refinery output, stockpiling
China's crude oil imports increased 15.8% from a year ago in the first two months of 2026, according to official data released?on? Tuesday. Refineries?maintained a high?throughput and?increased?stockpiling. China releases combined import data from January and February in order to reduce the impact of a Lunar New Year weeklong holiday that fell during the second half February of this year. According to the General Administration of Customs, imports between January and February amounted to 96.93 metric tons or approximately?11.99 billion barrels per day. According to Oilchem, an independent Chinese consultancy, the capacity utilisation rate of Chinese refineries was 71.3% and 73.2% respectively in January and February. Both were higher than during the previous?periods. According to Emma Li, an analyst with ship-tracking company Vortexa, the increase in crude imports was due to a stronger refining output during the first two months of 2026 as well as increased stockpiling. Inventories rose by about 25 million barrels. According to Kpler (a ship tracking firm), seaborne crude imports in January reached 10.88 millions bpd, an increase of 2.1 million from the previous year. In February, they increased by 1.7 million from the year before. MuyuXu, an analyst at Kpler, said that the increase in shipments from Russia in January and Februrary was notable. They nearly doubled compared to a year earlier. This was mainly due to India reducing its purchases and leaving more cargoes at lower prices available to 'China. Xu added that imports from Iran rose due to the lower prices, and also as a replacement for Venezuelan crude. Exports of refined petroleum products (including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel) also rose 12.7% in the first two months of 2026, to 8,13 million tonnes. The data revealed that natural gas imports, including liquefied gas and piped gas, fell 1.1% compared to a year ago, reaching 20.02 millions tons. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing, Thomas Derpinghaus and Lewis Jackson)
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US talks to rebuild Washington Dulles Airport intensify
An official revealed that the Trump administration is in talks to reach an agreement on a multi-billion dollar rebuilding of Washington 'Dulles International Airport. Steve Bradbury, Deputy Transportation Secretary, said that the Department and the Authority running the Airport are in ongoing discussions to find a solution. Sources say that President Donald Trump met with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on February 25 to discuss the future of Dulles. His company is responsible for nearly 70% Dulles traffic, according to sources. Bradbury stated that "those discussions are still ongoing." Bradbury said: "Those discussions are continuing." United declined to comment. Trump stated in December that he had a new design for Dulles. He said, "I plan to rebuild Dulles because it's a bad airport." It should be an amazing airport... "They have a beautiful building but a terrible airport." The critics say that 'Dulles needs modernization, and they complain about the slow mobile lounge vehicles which transport passengers along the tarmac. USDOT criticised in December the "jet fuel smell" in the concourses and the "paltry number" of gates at the main terminal. Sources said that the airport, which is run by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on a 50-year leased approved by Congress, will hold additional meetings with United and USDOT regarding expansion plans. Bradbury said MWAA has been working with United for years to develop a master plan of expansion for Dulles. Bradbury stated that the president and the administration felt "that's wonderful, but it's just not enough and not fast enough". Officials said that the Trump administration was considering plans to cost billions of dollars more. The airport, which is located about 25 miles (40 km) from the U.S. capital and opened in 1962, will get a new 435,000-square-foot (40,412-square-meter), 14-gate concourse this fall ?serving United customers. Dulles handled 29 million passengers in 2025. This is a 6.4% increase. The terminal building of the airport was designed by Eero Sárinen, a Finnish architect. It is a unique structure with a roof that slopes upwards on both sides. USDOT sought proposals in December to completely re-design the airport. This could include tearing down its 'historic main terminal. In February, it was reported that Trump had offered to release his funding hold for a 16 billion dollar tunnel under the Hudson River in New York in exchange for Democratic senator Chuck Schumer's support for renaming Dulles Station and New York Penn Station in Trump's honor.
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Beta Technologies wins FAA grant to accelerate development of military cargo drone
Kyle Clark, CEO of Beta Technologies, said in an interview that the company is speeding up the development of its Alia MV250 military cargo drone, and expects to fly it this year. He said that the accelerated timetable reflects Beta’s increased spending and focus on military programs. He said, "We have advanced our MV250 and?there is a big thematic wind right now coming from the administration that forces us to invest more in defense." The electric-powered MV250 is able to take off and land vertically, just like a helicopter. It can carry up to 2,000 lbs of cargo. In its November public offering, the Vermont-based company raised $1 billion. It designs and manufactures?electric aircraft and advanced electric propulsion systems. Beta is also increasing production of commercial Alia versions: a vertical take-off-and-landing, or VTOL version, and a conventional lift-off-and-landing, or CTOL version. Clark stated that the company expects to manufacture 20 aircraft in this year and another 80 next year. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday that Beta's Alia VTOL and its Charging Systems were selected to participate in 7 of 8 grant programs designed to encourage the integration of e VTOLs, drones, and air?taxis within the aviation networks of the United States. Joby Aviation, Electra and Archer Aviation are also recipients of multiple grants. The share prices of the three publicly-traded companies rose on Monday after the announcement. Beta shares rose 12% on the day, while Joby and Archer both gained 5% and 4.4%. Clark stated that Beta hopes to have the VTOL version of the 'Alia CTOL' certified by the 'FAA by the middle of 2028. The company has received firm orders for 890 aircraft – 70% for the Alia VTOL, and 30% for CTOL. (Reporting from Seattle by Dan Catchpole; editing by David Gaffen).
Operator: No signs of sabotage during the Finland-Sweden outage
'An undersea cable connecting?Finland to Sweden suffered a sudden outage - on Tuesday - due a 'technical problem, but there was no evidence of sabotage.' The operators Fingrid & Svenska kraftnat confirmed this. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the Baltic Sea region is on high alert due to a series?of underwater cable, telecom link, and gas pipeline outages. Sabotage and?shipping accident are blamed.
Fingrid's spokesperson Jonne Jappinen stated that the outage of the FennoSkan 2 interconnector on Tuesday was caused by a malfunction at a substation. The undersea cable segment appeared to have not been affected.
Svenska kraftnat, a Swedish news agency, also stated that the outage had been caused by technical problems and that the police - or any other law enforcement agencies - were not involved in the investigation.
According to a statement posted by Svenska 'kraftnat to the Nord Pool Message Platform, it was estimated that the outage would?last for?around 18 hours.
The?Swedish firm said that it expected Fenno-Skan to be back in operation soon. Stine Jacobsen, Soren Jeppesen at Copenhagen and Essi Lahto at Helsinki report. Editing by Terje Solsvik & Louise Heavens.
(source: Reuters)