JUPITER SEA & AIR
SERVICES PVT. LTD, EGMORE – CHENNAI, INDIA.
E-MAIL : Robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in Mobile : +91 98407 85202
Corporate News
Letter for Monday October 12, 2026
Today’s
Exchange Rates
|
Currency ▲ |
Price |
Change |
%Change |
Open |
Prev.Close |
Day's Low-High |
|
96.63 |
-0.160004 |
-0.16531 |
96.72 |
96.79 |
96.51 - 96.7725 |
|
|
1.1226 |
0.0015 |
0.133798 |
1.1211 |
1.1211 |
1.1211 - 1.1243 |
|
|
127.9073 |
0.249405 |
0.19537 |
128.0497 |
127.6579 |
127.8345 - 128.1082 |
|
|
108.5002 |
0.286995 |
0.265213 |
108.5774 |
108.2132 |
108.3941 - 108.6307 |
|
|
158.23 |
0.349991 |
0.221682 |
157.88 |
157.88 |
157.762 - 158.246 |
|
|
1.3235 |
0.0007 |
0.052918 |
1.3228 |
1.3228 |
1.3226 - 1.325 |
|
|
0.6109 |
-0.001 |
-0.163423 |
0.6131 |
0.6119 |
101.92 - 102.144 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.6106 - 0.6136 |
/// Sea Cargo News ///
Transpacific
gains slow as Europe rates slide
The latest container freight readings point to a change in market momentum, with Transpacific gains slowing considerably while Asia-Europe rates continue to fall.
Global benchmarks also moved lower. Drewry’s
World Container Index (WCI) and the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) both declined
1%, while the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) edged lower. The
China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI), however, recorded a modest increase.
Chinese freight indexes send mixed signals
The SCFI declined 0.66% to 3,662.30 points
from 3,686.62 in the previous reading.
The broader CCFI moved in the opposite
direction, increasing around 0.3% to 1,923.93 points from 1,917.68.
No new Ningbo Containerized Freight Index
(NCFI) reading was published due to China’s National Day holiday period. As a
result, the previous NCFI reading has not been treated as a new weekly
observation.
The latest Chinese benchmarks therefore offer
a mixed picture, with the SCFI easing while the CCFI remained slightly
positive.
NYFI shows Transpacific gains slowing
The latest NYSHEX Freight Index
(NYFI) readings show that the strong Transpacific
increases recorded during September have moderated.
Asia-US West Coast increased 1.89% to
7,557.37. Although still positive, the increase was considerably smaller than
the 4.82% rise recorded in the previous reading.
Asia-US East Coast was almost unchanged,
edging up just 0.03% to 9,695.31 after increasing 5.75% previously.
Asia-North Europe maintained its downward
direction, falling another 3.58% to 3,468.58.
The Transatlantic market moved higher in both
directions. Westbound increased 9.20% to 2,723.29, while eastbound climbed
7.25% to 1,184.57.
Drewry confirms continued Asia-Europe
weakness
Drewry’s
WCI declined 1% to US$4,434 per 40-foot
container in its latest assessment.
Shanghai-Los Angeles was broadly unchanged at
US$7,835 per 40-foot container, while Shanghai-New York increased 1% to
US$10,428.
Rates from Asia to Europe continued to
decline. Shanghai-Rotterdam fell 2% to US$3,399, while Shanghai-Genoa dropped
3% to US$3,702.
The readings broadly reinforce the pattern
visible in NYFI. Transpacific rates remain firm but are no longer recording the
strong weekly increases seen during September, while Asia-Europe continues to
weaken.
According to Drewry, Asia-Europe spot rates
have now declined for 12 consecutive weeks.
FBX extends decline
The FBX
Global Container Freight Index declined
another 1% to US$3,343.
The latest fall follows the previous week’s
1% decrease to US$3,380.40, extending the gradual downward movement in the
global benchmark.
Together with the decline in the WCI and the
modest fall in the SCFI, the latest FBX reading points to softer conditions at
global level.
What the freight indexes are telling us
The latest readings suggest that the
divergence seen during September is beginning to change shape.
Transpacific rates remain comparatively firm,
but their weekly gains have slowed significantly. NYFI’s Asia-US West Coast
increase moderated from 4.82% to 1.89%, while Asia-US East Coast moved from a
5.75% gain to virtually no change.
Drewry provides a similar signal.
Shanghai-Los Angeles was broadly unchanged, while Shanghai-New York increased
only 1%.
Europe remains the clearer weak spot. NYFI’s
Asia-North Europe reading fell another 3.58%, while Drewry recorded further
declines to both Rotterdam and Genoa.
The longer-term NYFI movement is particularly
notable. Asia-North Europe has fallen from 4,603.04 in early August to 3,468.58
in the latest reading, representing a decline of approximately 25%.
Meanwhile, the global benchmarks are also
leaning lower. Both WCI and FBX declined 1%, while SCFI edged down and CCFI
registered only a modest increase.
The different indexes use different
methodologies and reporting schedules, so their absolute values are not
directly comparable. Taken together, however, their direction shows that the
strong Transpacific gains recorded during September have moderated while
downward pressure on Asia-Europe remains firmly in place.
What to watch next
The period following China’s Golden Week will
be important in determining whether the slowdown in Transpacific gains is
temporary or develops into a broader downward movement.
Drewry noted that Transpacific demand
remained resilient ahead of the holiday period. However, the Golden Week
shutdown and changes in available capacity could affect the next round of
spot-rate readings.
Asia-Europe faces a different set of
pressures. Drewry has highlighted increasing effective capacity as more vessels
transit the Suez Canal, with Suez transits in Week 39 reported 68% higher year
on year. This additional capacity could maintain pressure on rates even as
carriers manage supply through blank sailings.
The next readings should therefore provide a
clearer indication of whether Transpacific rates stabilize after Golden Week
and whether Asia-Europe can break its extended downward trend.
Hai An Lines
Launches Chennai–Malaysia–Vietnam–China Service
Vietnam-based container shipping line Hai An Lines has launched its CVI India–Malaysia/Vietnam/China service with the maiden call of M.V. HAIAN BETA at Chennai Port, establishing a new direct maritime link between Chennai and key Asian trade centres.
The monthly service operates from DP World’s
Chennai Container Terminal (CCTPL) and connects Chennai with Port Klang,
Haiphong and Nansha, providing an additional regular shipping option between
India and Vietnam while strengthening connectivity with Malaysia and South
China.
Samsara Group is Hai An Lines’ General
Shipping Agent in India, supporting sales, customer service, documentation and
operational activities. Mark Vu described the launch as a significant
milestone for Hai An Lines amid growing India–Vietnam trade.
Sachin S. Kurve highlighted the service’s
potential to provide exporters and importers with an additional direct shipping
option between Chennai, Vietnam and wider Asian markets.
India-Vietnam merchandise trade reached USD
18.28 Billion in FY 2025-26 and the new service is expected to support the
continued growth of containerised trade between the two markets.
Gulftainer
expands aluminium exports through Khorfakkan Port
Gulftainer and Emirates Global Aluminium have signed a strategic agreement to expand aluminium exports from the UAE’s East Coast through Khorfakkan Port.
Under the agreement, EGA will route up to
250,000 tonnes of aluminium through Khorfakkan in the first year, increasing to
up to 300,000 tonnes in the second year, with potential for further volume
growth in subsequent years. Gulftainer will develop port capabilities to
accommodate EGA’s requirements.
The agreement strengthens the efficiency and
resilience of EGA’s outbound logistics, diversifying its export routing and
supporting the company’s ability to reliably serve customers across more than
50 countries.
Farid Belbouab, Group CEO of Gulftainer,
described the agreement as going beyond logistics to building resilience for
UAE trade, positioning Khorfakkan as a strategic, efficient and reliable East
Coast gateway to global markets for one of the UAE’s most strategically
important industries. Abdulnasser Bin Kalban,
CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium, described
the partnership as another important step in the company’s ongoing effort to
diversify outbound logistics and ensure reliable deliveries as the world’s
largest premium aluminium producer.
FESCO
realigns China–Vladivostok service
FESCO has revised its FCDL3 service between China and Vladivostok, removing Wenzhou and introducing an alternating sailing pattern.
Under the new arrangement, two out of every
three sailings will operate a direct Shanghai–Vladivostok connection. The third
sailing will link Xiamen, Shantou and Ningbo with the Russian port.
The revised rotations are:
·
Loop 1: Shanghai – Vladivostok – Shanghai
·
Loop 2: Xiamen – Shantou – Ningbo –
Vladivostok – Xiamen
The changes streamline the service while
maintaining coverage across key Chinese ports.
COSCO
joins Mediterranean–Canada service
COSCO Shipping Lines will take slots on
Hapag-Lloyd’s Mediterranean Canada (MCA) service, according to DynaLiners.
The Chinese carrier will market the
connection under the Mediterranean Canada Service (MECA) brand.
The full MCA rotation covers:
Salerno – Livorno – Genoa – Marseille –
Sagunto – Algeciras – Tangier – Vigo – Saint John – Montreal – Tangier –
Salerno.
However, COSCO’s slot agreement will not
cover the calls at Vigo in Spain or Saint John in Canada.
The move follows a similar arrangement
involving COSCO’s sister carrier OOCL, which has also joined the
Hapag-Lloyd-operated Mediterranean–Canada connection.
The service provides COSCO with additional
coverage between major Mediterranean gateways and Montreal through a
slot-charter arrangement rather than a separate operated loop.
Great
White Fleet expands Americas network
Great White Fleet, the logistics division of Chiquita, will expand its shipping network with new connections from Peru and Ecuador.
From October 2026, the carrier will introduce
a direct ocean connection between Peru and Philadelphia.
The new link will support the transport of
seasonal produce from Peru to markets in the northeastern United States.
Great White Fleet will also offer shipping
opportunities from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to ports in the United States and
Europe.
However, the carrier has not yet clarified
how the new connections will be incorporated into its existing service network.
The expansion strengthens Great White Fleet’s
position in temperature-controlled transportation between key agricultural
export markets and major consumer destinations.
/// Air Cargo News
///
Jaipur Air Cargo
Complex Posts Record Monthly Turnover
The Jaipur Air Cargo Complex has recorded its highest monthly turnover since the facility began operations, highlighting growing air cargo activity and strengthening demand for air freight services in Rajasthan.
The
performance reflects increased movement of export and import consignments
through Jaipur, supported by the region’s expanding trade base and improving
air cargo infrastructure.
The
complex handles a range of commodities, including textiles, handicrafts, gems
and jewellery, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and other time-sensitive
products.
Stronger
cargo activity is expected to provide exporters with improved access to
international markets. The record monthly turnover also underlines the
growing role of Jaipur airport in supporting Rajasthan’s export ecosystem.
Higher
volume through the cargo complex could encourage more businesses to use air
freight for high-value and time-sensitive shipments.
Industry
stakeholders are looking for continued improvements in cargo-handling capacity,
connectivity and processing infra-structure to support further growth.
The
latest performance signals rising potential for Jaipur as an air cargo gateway
and could strengthen the city’s position in India’s growing international air
freight network.
New road feeder association to tackle
issues facing air cargo truckers
Road
feeder operators have teamed up to launch a new association that aims to tackle
the issues facing the market, such as slot booking, and to launch a
standardised contract.
The
International Road Feeder Association (IRFA) was announced at the Aviation
Connect event that took place in Athens this week, with six firms initially
signing up to the group: Arthur Welter Transport, Georgi Transport, Wallenborn
Transport, Jan de Rijk from Europe, Thor Xpress from the US and Wymap Transport
from Australia.
Speaking
at a press conference to announce the association, association chairperson and
secretary Henrik Ambak explained that road feeder services (RFS) were becoming
an increasingly important part of airline cargo operations and in Europe one
third of all air cargo starts or ends its journey with an RFS service.
Ambak
added that the association is open to more members joining its ranks and
highlighted its international reach.
“The
topic of IRFA is to represent the RFS industry and other stakeholders. It could
be recommending best practice on security, sustainability, safety,
documentation, process and systems, participating in the elaboration of
relevant regulations, acting as a contact organisation for authorities, and
providing training and information dissemination to the sector.”
Issues
that the association will aim to address include a recommended standard
contract and service level agreement; standards for slot allocation at airport
cargo terminals; data standards for cargo on the road to support real-time
cargo visibility; sustainability; and improving driver access to facilities at
airport cargo terminals.
The
IRFA said that slot allocation at airports is one of the biggest challenges
faced by RFS operators, which “lose many truck and driver hours due to
insufficient slot allocation at airport cargo terminals…which often further can
lead to service failures as flight connections are missed or ready for pick-up
promises not met”.
“[The]
IRFA wishes, with the ground handlers, to create solid standards for slot
allocation for truck loading and off-loading, reducing service failures and
increasing service efficiency,” the association said.
A
standardised contract, meanwhile, would help tender, contracting and service
follow-up processes for airlines and RFS providers.
The
contract would act as a framework with commercial terms being negotiated
bilaterally between each airline and each RFS provider.
On
sustainability, the association said it aimed to help with the development of
more charging points and hydrogen refuelling stations at airports, the lack of
which is a blockage to the development of more environmentally friendly road
operations.
Improving
driver facilities would help attract more people to the industry, which is
currently facing a driver shortage, the members explained.
The
not-for-profit organisation is in the process of being registered in
Luxembourg.
The
leadership board will be made up of: Ambak; Michael Rau, chief sales officer,
Arthur Welter Transport; Christian Georgi, chief operating officer, Georgi
Transport; Ram Menon, chief operating officer, Wallenborn Transport; David
Smorenburg, business development manager, Jan de Rijk; Kirk Ejdys, owner, Thor
Xpress; and Justin Bailey, chief executive, Wymap Transport.
The
members said it was the first association of this type. Menon said that the
idea for the association started two years ago at a previous Aviation Connect
event.
“We
are normally forgotten, but if the trucks don’t run, the planes don’t fly full.
We have never had a voice and the whole purpose of this is to give us a voice
so we can go to the industry and bring something to the industry on a
structural level and on a tangible level,” said Menon.
GSSAs set for closer airline
integration
GSSAs
will evolve to increasingly integrate with airlines while offering a menu of
services and target new market entrants, according to speakers at the Aviation
Connect event.
During
a panel discussion at the Athens event, speakers were asked how they felt GSSAs
would develop in the future.
Kales
Group chief executive Sebastiaan Scholte said that new entrants to the airline
industry could become future customers of GSSAs.
He
explained that over recent years shippers, shipping companies, e-commerce
platforms, freight forwarders and ACMI providers have all emerged as aircraft
operators.
“All
of them have certain lanes that are not full and they also have directional
imbalances, so what I see as a future role for GSSAs is to become a broker of
capacity. Who better can commercialise this space?” he said.
Elsewhere,
Scholte said GSSAs would increase their use of AI tools to help improve
aircraft utilisation while they would also increasingly sell back-office
services to airlines.
The
industry will also increasingly act as a “virtual airline”, he said.
“Many
airlines want a Total Cargo Management (TCM) solution where you are the de
facto cargo department of the airline. The advantage of a GSSA is that, if you
do it right, you will take the best of all the airlines you represent and you
become the best so-called virtual airline.”
His
view was echoed by Vitaly Smilianets of Awery Aviation Software, whose product
is utilised by many GSSAs.
“I
think that GSSAs will offer more and more TCM solutions, and I think it is
happening more and more in the last two to three years,” Smilianets said.
“The
next succession for the GSSAs is that they can take over and do everything for
the airline.
“Airlines
will get to a point where they not only outsource their sales capabilities for
a specific country but outsource the whole story and even do it globally.”
Smilianets
also felt that airlines would increasingly use GSSAs for financial services,
such as payment collection.
Emma
Oliver, managing director of TCM provider Northwind Global Logistics, said that
GSSAs of the future would have an important role to play in creating a single
source of data across the industry.
“I
think that where GSSAs can use the technology to become a better extension of
the airline is where they will be able to differentiate themselves.
“Whether
that is using the platform of an airline or using their own technology to
ensure seamless messaging so we have this one source of truth, one source of
data, across the industry.”
The
integration of systems was also where 4RCargo commercial manager Pawel
Kazmierczak felt that GSSAs would develop in the future.
“Being
connected to the airlines, being connected to the freight forwarders, is where
we are going to be in the future,” he said.
He
added that this development could happen at the expense of third-party booking
portals as airlines look to achieve more bookings directly on their own
platforms.
Major hubs unaffected by jet fuel
supply issues
While
jet fuel prices have remained a concern for the air cargo industry, there
hasn’t been a shortage of fuel at any major airport hubs that has curbed
passenger or cargo operations, shows analysis from Cirium.
Mike
Malik, chief industry officer at the aviation analytics company, said that
predictions of airlines having to ground fleets and airports having to close
because of fuel shortages have not materialised, although there have been some
cases of smaller airports being greatly impacted.
Malik
stressed that “since the Strait of Hormuz closed at the end of February, no
major hub anywhere has run dry”.
He
elaborated: “The warnings when Hormuz closed were of the whole system running
dry, of grounded fleets and hub airports closing. That is not what happened.
Nearly seven months on, the hubs are still operating. The fuel that went
missing went missing from secondary locations. So, in summary the failure is
real. It is just not the one that was forecast.”
One
of the key issues is distribution of fuel. Malik stated that as well as moving
fuel between countries, moving fuel within countries to fuel farms is more
problematic as workers have less support to do so.
“Shortages
hit the smallest airports first. That is why the affected list reads Brindisi,
Pescara, Yangon and Tahiti rather than Heathrow, Frankfurt or Changi,” said
Malik.
IATA’s
analysis for August found that jet fuel prices rose by 8.3% month-on-month in
August and were 79.2% higher than a year earlier.
Although
jet fuel costs have broadly intensified cost and profit pressures for cargo
operations and airlines continue to run fuel surcharges, cargo demand growth
has been steady.
Total
demand in August increased by 4.4% compared to August 2025. Year on year growth
had eased in July, but was still up by 3.9%.
In
comparison, year on year demand grew 8.5% in June, 6% in May, and 4% in April
as it recovered from the disruption of the start of the Middle East conflict.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the above
news letter.
Robert Sands
Joint Managing Director
Jupiter Sea & Air Services Pvt Ltd
Casa Blanca, 3rd Floor
11, Casa Major Road, Egmore
Chennai – 600 008. India.
GST Number : 33AAACJ2686E1ZS.
Tel : + 91 44 2819 0171 / 3734 / 4041
Fax : + 91 44 2819 0735
Mobile : + 91 98407 85202
E-mail : robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in
Website : www.jupiterseaair.com 1Branches : Chennai, Bangalore,
Mumbai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Tuticorin.
Associate Offices : New Delhi, Kolkatta, Cochin &
Hyderabad.
Thanks to : Container News, Indian Seatrade, Cargo Forwarder Global & Air Cargo News.
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