Pivot to computing cargo

AI infrastructure overtakes e‑commerce as main driver of air‑freight growth

Air‑freight demand is shifting sharply as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure becomes the sector’s strongest growth driver, according to data from analytics group Rotate. Shipments linked to cloud‑computing projects rose by 49 per cent in 2025,…

Competition with Piraeus and Valencia

Haropa sets sights on top‑five EU port status by 2035

Haropa, the port alliance of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, plans to rise from ninth to a top‑five position in Europe by 2035, having handled 3.2 million TEU last year — already France’s largest container hub. Planning director Cédric Virciglio said…

Israeli container carrier

CEO departure adds uncertainty to Zim’s takeover by Hapag-Lloyd

Zim chief executive Eli Glickman is to step down, adding uncertainty to the container line’s pending acquisition by Hapag‑Lloyd. Glickman, who has led the company since 2017, will remain for six months while the board searches for a successor. His…

Critical stage

China orders Maersk and MSC to retreat from Panama Canal ports

Beijing has told Maersk and MSC to halt operations at two Panama Canal ports, deepening a widening US‑China stand‑off over the strategic waterway. The Financial Times reported that the National Development and Reform Commission summoned the lines…

US trade policy reshuffle

Washington launches refund system for unlawful import duties

US importers will be able to file refund claims from 20 April after the Supreme Court ruled in February that Donald Trump exceeded his authority by using a 1977 emergency law to impose tariffs. The overturned duties generated about 166 billion US…

Regulations

Swiss safety plan risks disrupting Europe’s rail‑freight system

Switzerland’s move to tighten safety standards for freight wagons is creating friction across Europe and could unsettle cross‑border rail operations, DVZ International has learned. The planned rules on wheel inspections, minimum diameters and thermal…

staff change

New chief at Antwerp-Zeebrugge port

The port of Antwerp‑Zeebrugge said chief executive Jacques Vandermeiren, who has led the port since 2017, will step down. Until a successor is appointed, chief operating officer Rob Smeets will assume interim leadership. The port said succession…

Risk management

Duvenbeck sale raises risks for Europe’s automotive supply chains

Automotive logistics provider Duvenbeck is being sold as the company faces severe financial strain, DVZ International has learned from industry and capital‑market sources. PwC has been mandated to find a buyer after losses deepened under…

Price break

Berlin cuts fuel tax to ease logistics costs

Germany’s transport minister Patrick Schnieder told DVZ International that the government’s temporary 17‑cent reduction in the energy tax on diesel and petrol is intended to provide short‑term relief for the transport and logistics sector, lowering…

Rising Investments

Dachser navigates competition amid Middle East disruption

The logistics provider Dachser is preparing for tougher conditions as soft economic momentum and geopolitical tensions tighten global transport markets. Chief executive Burkhard Eling said the conflict in the Middle East is constraining air and sea…

Cuts prompt backlash

DSV trims German groupage rates as volumes fall

Logistics group DSV has introduced a 2.5 per cent reduction to base rates in its German groupage network, citing falling volumes and excess capacity, in a move that has drawn sharp criticism from transport contractors. In a letter to hauliers seen by…

Middle East war

Hormuz stays shut as Iran imposes toll on strait passage

Three days into the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed. Only about a dozen vessels have transited since Monday, according to Signal Ocean and Windward, against roughly 140 a day before the war. Most shipowners in the Gulf are…

Global trade outlook

US tariffs rattle German exporters more than Middle East war

Some 83 per cent of German exporters expect revenue growth this year, outpacing peers in every other market surveyed, according to an Allianz Trade poll of 6,000 companies across 13 countries published on Wednesday. Three quarters of all respondents…

Middle East war

Europe's jet fuel reserves face depletion within months

Britain has three months of jet fuel left if imports from the Persian Gulf remain blocked and consumption stays unchanged, according to energy pricing agency Argus Media. Portugal would follow after four months, Germany and Italy after seven. The…

Management outlines plans

Fedex Freight pitches investors on life after spin-off

With less than two months until its separation from the US delivery group, Fedex Freight has made its case to investors, pledging annual revenue growth of four to six per cent as an independent company. At an investor day in New York, management…