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Hong Kong reviews river fees as mainland ports lure cargo away

Hong Kong is reviewing permit fees charged to river trade vessels as it seeks to maintain its port's competitiveness amid growing competition from mainland Chinese terminals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The secretary for transport and logistics, Chan Mei-po, announced the review in a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday. China-flagged vessels carry containers between ports in the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong, where cargo may be transferred to ocean-going vessels for onward shipment. Mainland Chinese ports offer incentives to attract inland waterway vessels carrying cargo, promising financial subsidies and exemptions from mandatory pilotage requirements. Hong Kong operates a multiple-entry permit scheme, allowing operators to make up to 10 port entries within a month for a fee equivalent to five single-entries - the "buy five, get five free" system. Ms Chan said: "The Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy proposes various measures to strengthen Hong Kong's position as a regional transhipment hub, including reviewing the permit fees charged to river trade vessels in order to maintain the competitiveness and attractiveness of the port to the industry. We have completed a preliminary review and are now discussing the matter with relevant departments, with the details to be released in due course." Laden container movements between Hong Kong and mainland China account for more than 40% of the territory's annual laden container throughput. But statistics show a decline in river cargo vessel arrivals and associated container volumes since 2023. The numbers cover vessels mainly berthing at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. In 2023, there were 4,344 arrivals, handling 1.63m teu. By 2025, this had fallen to 3,519 arrivals and 1.52m teu. In the first seven months of 2026, there were 2,101 arrivals, handling 878,000 teu. Decades ago, Hong Kong was among the world's three busiest container ports. but mainland ports have overtaken the territory as Chinese exports surged and their port infrastructure was upgraded. Hong Kong handled 12.99m teu in 2025, down 5.1% year on year.

Emirates SkyCargo continues North America expansion with Milan-New York flight

Emirates SkyCargo is continuing to expand its presence in North America with a new freighter connection between Milan and New York. The new weekly service between Milan Malpensa and New York JFK will start on 5 December using one of the carrier's 100-tonne-capacity Boeing 777 freighter aircraft. The carrier said the service was being launched to serve growing demand for export capacity from Northern Italy and the Lombardy region. The carrier pointed out that exports from Milan carried by Emirates SkyCargo grew 13% in financial year 2025/26 compared to the previous year and added that New York is the largest air cargo export destination for Italian goods. Meanwhile, overall exports of Italian goods carried by Emirates were up 12% year on year for the 2025/26 financial year. Key export commodities that move by air from Milan include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and clinical trial medication, luxury goods and fashion items, industrial equipment and machine parts, high-end automotives, fresh produce and speciality food products. In the other direction, the carrier reported a 23% increase in the volume of exports it carried from JFK and Newark Liberty airports between financial year 2024/25 and FY 2025/ 26. Key export commodities moving from New York include pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, perishables, e-commerce shipments, machinery and industrial components. Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president, Emirates SkyCargo, said the new service would also complement its existing passenger services. "Milan is a key air cargo gateway for Italy and Europe, where Emirates SkyCargo currently offers over 500 tonnes of weekly export capacity to global markets, including over 100 tonnes weekly bellyhold capacity on our passenger flights to New York. "The new freighter service adds important maindeck capacity on a vital trade corridor, offering exporters greater access, flexibility and reliability when serving customers in the US. "Exports from the Greater New York region have seen strong growth, reflecting robust demand for reliable access to international markets. "By combining enhanced freighter capacity with our extensive network of freighter and passenger services through Dubai, we are enhancing connectivity for pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, perishables and machinery from the US, while creating faster links to destinations across the Middle East, Asia and beyond." Emirates SkyCargo also operates a once-weekly freighter flight between Milan and Dubai (DWC) to allow connection to other destinations in the Emirates network. North America connections The new service comes as Emirates SkyCargo has been expanding its presence in North America in line with fleet expansion. Emirates SkyCargo has also launched freighter flights in 2026 to Los Angeles (LAX) and Dallas (DFW) while increasing frequencies to Miami (MIA). The expansion follows the delivery of eight new freighter aircraft this year, including seven Boeing 777-F production freighters and one Boeing 777-300ER converted freighter. "This expansion helped power the growth of Emirates SkyCargo's freighter network from over 40 destinations in March 2026 to over 60 destinations by July 2026," the carrier said. Last week, Emirates reported that its cargo volumes were down 1% in the first half of its 2026-2027 financial year, but cargo revenue increased by 50%. The airline said its gains occurred "as the regional conflict reduced available airfreight capacity while concurrently pushing shippers to seek airfreight options due to marine transport disruptions".

Lufthansa and ANA restart cargo tie-up and add NCA and SWISS

Lufthansa Cargo, SWISS WorldCargo, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of enhancing cooperation in the air cargo market between Japan and Europe. The four carriers will assess opportunities for collaboration, including greater network connectivity between Japan and Europe, additional routing and capacity options, as well as enhanced flexibility and service choices. The MoU is built on the past alliance between Lufthansa Cargo and ANA, whose parent company, ANA Holdings also owns NCA. In 2014, Lufthansa Cargo and ANA established a cargo joint venture covering the Japan-Europe market, but following restructuring activities within ANA Holdings' cargo business, the cooperation was suspended in September 2023. Now, building on the foundation established by the two companies, Lufthansa Cargo and ANA aim to explore the potential resumption of their cargo joint venture, including SWISS WorldCargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines. "Japan is an important market for Lufthansa Cargo, and our long-standing relationship with All Nippon Airways has enabled us to serve customers reliably for many years," said Ashwin Bhat, chief executive of Lufthansa Cargo. "Together with SWISS WorldCargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines, we now want to explore how we can leverage our respective brand strengths, networks and expertise to create even greater value for our customers. "By offering even more options and flexibility between Japan and Europe, we are further delivering on our mission of Enabling Global Business." Alain Chisari, head of SWISS WorldCargo, commented: "Europe and Japan are both key markets for customers that rely on trustworthy, high-quality air cargo services for care-intensive and time-critical shipments. "Bringing together our strong European network and specialised cargo expertise with the capabilities of our partners could provide customers with an even broader range of transport solutions." Kenichi Wakiya, executive vice president, cargo marketing & services, All Nippon Airways & chief executive, ANA Cargo, stated: "All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa Cargo have built a strong foundation over many years. We are pleased to renew our dialogue and broaden our cargo joint venture to include SWISS WorldCargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines. "By bringing together the individual strengths of all four carriers, we aim to respond even more effectively to the diverse logistics needs of customers in Japan and Europe." "Nippon Cargo Airlines leverages extensive experience in dedicated freighter operations and a strong presence in the Japan-Europe cargo market as we join forces with our partners," added Hiroyuki Homma, president and chief executive, Nippon Cargo Airlines. "We are fully committed to complementing the networks, aiming to provide customers with expanded capacity and flexible routing solutions."