Companies & Markets Oct 18, 2026 · 7 min read
DHL lifts its forecast to over EUR 7bn. Air freight is doing the work. On 16 October DHL Group raised its 2026 operating profit (EBIT) forecast to above EUR 7.0bn, from more than EUR 6.5bn. In our view, this is mostly an air freight story. Express EBIT rose to about EUR 1,035m from EUR 692m. DHL says about EUR 100m of that came from tight air capacity. Global Forwarding made about EUR 260m, up from EUR 195m. Expect firm air rates through peak season. Our call: DSV (21 October) and Kuehne+Nagel (22 October) will show air earnings growing faster than sea earnings, and neither will cut guidance.
Companies & Markets Oct 17, 2026 · 8 min read
DHL lifts its 2026 profit target to more than EUR 7bn, and tight air capacity did part of the work. DHL Group now expects 2026 operating profit (EBIT) above EUR 7.0bn, up from above EUR 6.5bn. Its Q3 EBIT was about EUR 1,710m, up roughly 16%. We think this shows air freight is where forwarder profit is coming from this year. DHL Global Forwarding’s EBIT rose to about EUR 260m from EUR 195m. DHL Express says about EUR 100m came from tight air freight capacity. For forwarders, peak season air space will cost more and need booking earlier. Our call: when DSV reports on 21 October and Kuehne+Nagel on 22 October, both will show air outgrowing sea.
Companies & Markets Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min read
Hackers claim 38 shipping and port firms. Your EDI data may be in the pile. Extortion group n0n listed 38 shipping lines, terminals and logistics firms on its leak site on 12 October, says security firm SOCRadar. It threatens to publish at 13:27 UTC on 19 October, demanding $2.4m to $14m. None has confirmed a breach. Our view: this looks like one shared software hole, not 38 break-ins. SOCRadar says the small, narrow datasets point to “one exposed application or vulnerability”. The claimed files are EDI messages and manifests, which carry forwarders’ customer data. Our call: expect phishing using real booking details from these firms before the end of Q4.
Companies & Markets Oct 15, 2026 · 7 min read
The warehouse cushion is gone. Price 2027 storage accordingly. Warehouse landlord Prologis ended Q3 2026 with its portfolio 95.6% full, its results show. CEO Daniel S. Letter: “Customers are running lean on inventory, and excess capacity within their networks has largely cleared.” Our view: the cheap-space period of 2023-2025 is over. Prologis says leases starting in the quarter carried cash rents 23.4% above the ones they replaced. Cushman & Wakefield puts US industrial vacancy at 6.8%, its lowest since end-2024. For forwarders, that means dearer contract warehousing and less room to absorb tariff-driven stockpiling. Our call: US vacancy prints 6.7% or lower when Q4 data lands in January.
Companies & Markets Oct 15, 2026 · 7 min read
A Moller-family fund buys seven small-port terminals from Mitsui. A.P. Moller Capital has agreed to buy 100% of Singapore terminal operator Portek from Mitsui, Splash247 reported on 15 October. Portek has interests in seven terminals in six countries and handles about 700,000 containers a year. No price was given. Our view: this is a fund quietly building a network of secondary gateways. It agreed to buy control of Euroports, with more than 50 terminals, just weeks ago. Forwarders using Bejaia, Riga, Valletta or Tanjung Priok should expect new owners to revisit tariffs. Our call: the deal will not close before Q1 2027.
Companies & Markets Oct 14, 2026 · 7 min read
DSV opens Q3 season with its Road unit on trial. DSV reports third-quarter results on 21 October, a day before Kuehne+Nagel. J.P. Morgan has just cut its Q3 profit forecast for DSV’s Road division to DKK 412m from DKK 715m. Our view: Road, not air or sea, will decide how this quarter is judged. J.P. Morgan says it has “lost conviction” in the Schenker deal’s earnings story. DSV’s own management told analysts to “take a couple of percentage points off” Road. Expect sharp European road pricing as DSV fights to win back lost volume. Our call: on 21 October DSV keeps its 2026 profit range but points to the lower half.
Companies & Markets Oct 14, 2026 · 7 min read
DHL puts DHL Express freighters behind pharma to Asia. DHL Global Forwarding has added six temperature-controlled air corridors from Europe and the US to Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul, Air Cargo News reported on 13 October. Most of the flying is on DHL Express-branded aircraft. Our view: a forwarder now sells capacity on its own group’s branded freighters, and asset-light rivals will struggle to match that. In February DHL said it was “reducing reliance on third-party carriers and commercial airlines”. Expect pharma tenders on these lanes to use it as a benchmark. We predict DHL names a Middle East or Latin America corridor by end of Q2 2027.
Companies & Markets Oct 12, 2026 · 7 min read
Samsung SDS is buying airline space, not profit. Samsung SDS has agreed to buy 100% of Woojung Air, a Korean air consolidator that made KRW3bn operating profit on KRW213.9bn revenue last year (The Loadstar). That is a 1.4% margin. Our view: this deal is about control of airline space and the Incheon terminal, not earnings. Samsung SDS’s own logistics margin was about 1.2% in the first half (Asia Economy). Woojung sells space to more than 1,200 forwarders, and those forwarders will now be buying from a rival. Our call: by end of Q2 2027, Woojung space will be bookable inside Samsung SDS’s Cello Square platform.
Companies & Markets Oct 10, 2026 · 7 min read
C.H. Robinson agrees to buy RXO for $5.8bn, and its own shares fall 11%. US third-party logistics firm C.H. Robinson agreed on 5 October to buy rival RXO for an implied $5.8bn. RXO holders get $17.25 in cash plus 0.0856 C.H. Robinson shares each. C.H. Robinson’s stock fell 10.85% that day, according to FreightWaves. Our view: this is a bet that AI cuts costs faster than the truck market recovers. The company’s own investor deck says the deal does not depend on a freight recovery, and it targets $300m a year in savings. We expect rivals to chase RXO’s shippers, carriers and sales staff hard before the deal closes in the first half of 2027.
Companies & Markets Oct 10, 2026 · 7 min read
OOCL’s Q3 revenue jumps 45% as trans-Pacific takings rise 72%. OOCL’s liner revenue rose 45.1% year on year to $3.28bn in the third quarter, according to Container News. Trans-Pacific revenue rose 71.8% to $1.44bn on 13.1% more cargo. In our view this was price, not demand. OOCL moved slightly fewer boxes than in the second quarter, yet revenue rose about 29%. Part of the jump is also a rebound from a weak 2025. Carriers now head into 2027 contract talks flush with cash. Our call: Asia-Europe spot rates will be lower by the end of November than they are today, and trans-Pacific rates will hold up better.