What’s going on in freight

Gulf shipping risk now reaches the far north of the Gulf even as Qatar-led talks produce a draft and oil falls, while Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd move another Gemini loop back through Suez. Ashore, US factories and truck demand are both running hot, Canada has spelled out container reporting for forwarders, and two Strait of Gibraltar and warehouse-robot stories show where capital is going.

War, chokepoints and disruption

• A tanker was hit by two projectiles about 72 nautical miles east of Ras Al Khafji, near the Saudi–Kuwaiti border, at 2347 UTC on 1 November, hours after another ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz. About 490 ships were waiting outside the strait on 1 November, while Brent fell 4.2% to $108.64 on 2 November as Qatar-led talks produced a draft proposal. (gCaptain, Logistics Middle East, Arab News) Our story →
• Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will send their ME1 India–North Europe service through Suez instead of round the Cape, starting with the Atlanta Express from Salalah on 4 November. The freed ships add capacity to a soft market, though Saudi-led coalition strikes hit Yemen’s Ras Isa port on the Red Sea coast the same day. (Maersk, Container News) Our story →

Rates and markets

• ISM’s October production index hit 59.0, the fastest factory output growth since November 2021, and DAT counted 10.93 posted loads per dry van truck for the week ending 31 October, with van spot up to $2.23 a mile, 32.6% above a year ago. (ISM via PR Newswire, DAT) Our story →

Tariffs, customs and policy

• Canada’s border agency issued Customs Notice 26-25 on 30 October, saying “a separate Cargo Control Document (CCD) is required for each container” in its section on containers imported for sale, and that listing those box numbers only inside the shipment filing is not acceptable. CBSA’s penalties for advance-data breaches run from CAD 250 to CAD 8,000 each. (CBSA, GHY International) Our story →

Forwarders, carriers and deals

• Morocco’s Nador West Med opened its East Container Terminal on Saturday, a 3.4 million TEU facility owned by MSC’s terminal arm TIL and Marsa Maroc, setting up a new MSC-linked hub to rival Tanger Med and Algeciras. (WorldCargo News, Container News) Our story →

Software, AI and automation

• Churchill Capital Corp XI shareholders approved the merger with humanoid warehouse robot maker Agility Robotics on 2 November, with more than 84% of votes in favour. Shares should trade on Nasdaq as AGLT from 5 November, with about $465M expected against about $620M announced in June. (SEC / Churchill XI, Silicon Florist) Our story →

Coming up

• Tuesday 3 November: US midterm elections Our story →; next EIA weekly diesel price Our story →
• Wednesday 4 November: Atlanta Express leaves Salalah on ME1’s first Suez sailing Our story →; Agility–Churchill XI deal expected to close Our story →
• Thursday 5 November: Agility Robotics expected to start trading on Nasdaq as AGLT Our story →
• Friday 13 November: Savannah Express leaves Tangier on ME1’s first eastbound Suez sailing (Container News says 12 November) Our story →
• April 2027: Nador West Med’s second container terminal due to open Our story →