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Qatar Cargo targets semiconductor market with container deal

Qatar Airways Cargo is continuing to target the semiconductor market with an investment in specialist containers to transport shipments related to the industry. The Doha-headquartered carrier today announced that it had struck a deal with container firm VRR to utilise its specialist RGX and RZY containers. VRR's RZY (16ft) and RGX (20ft) containers are purpose-built to support the secure transport of semiconductor fabrication machinery and related equipment. Both container types are equipped with climate-control systems and shock-absorption technology, ensuring protection throughout the journey. In addition, the containers are fully certified for carriage on the maindecks of Qatar Airways Cargo's Boeing 777 freighters. The airline said that the deal would strengthen its TechLift service that ensures "that critical semiconductor technologies are transported securely and delivered on time". Qatar Cargo launched its TechLift service in early 2025 to target the fast-growing semiconductor market. The service utilises shock absorption technology on all ground and aircraft equipment for moving delicate semiconductor products, such as integrated circuits, chipsets, microchips, urgent semiconductor manufacturing machinery and pieces such as capital and testing equipment, doped chemicals, cutting, stripping and etching wafers. The product also offers loading priority, the use of approved data loggers, specialised handling techniques as per commodity-specific operational guidelines and protection from adverse weather conditions. The move comes as the air cargo market has benefitted from a boom in semiconductor, data centre and AI-related volumes over the past few years. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales in June were up 124% year on year to $134.5bn. Meanwhile, global semiconductor sales reached $403bn during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 35.1% compared to the first quarter of the year.

Muscat-Dubai road feeder expected to remain part of Oman Air network

The emergence of Muscat, in Oman, as a back-up air cargo hub this year, notably for DHL, was a prime example of how the industry adapted to disrupted airspace and airport closures across the Gulf and wider Middle East region. The conflict also saw national carrier Oman Air come into its own, keeping cargo moving with the creation of a daily road feeder service (RFS) between the Oman capital and Dubai. In an interview with The Loadstar, Mike Duggan, head of cargo at Oman Air (above), reflected on the contingency planning and assessed the likely lasting effects of the regional conflict on the carrier's cargo business. "Muscat played an important role during the disruption earlier this year, with additional cargo flows moving through Oman as the industry responded to changing conditions across the region. While some traffic had returned to its usual routes as other hubs reopened, there were still cargo flows through Muscat that were not previously part of the network he explained. "The ongoing uncertainty means some companies continue to view Muscat as a reliable hub for their supply chains." The RFS continues to operate daily between Muscat and the UAE, transporting a broad range of perishables, general cargo, and goods that cannot be accommodated on narrow-body passenger aircraft. "It has demonstrated its value operationally, and from a customs and security perspective. We now expect it to remain an established part of our network." Oman Air Cargo had continued to assess narrow-body freighter options to add capacity on key markets, particularly Mumbai and Dhaka, in Bangladesh, Mr Duggan revealed. "Both are strong cargo markets and additional freighter capacity would feed into Oman Air's wide-body passenger network, including services to Europe." In the meantime, Oman Air has introduced wide-body passenger aircraft on some Mumbai and Dhaka services to provide additional cargo capacity to meet current demand while it considers options for the future. The carrier has yet to disclose its cargo traffic figures for the first half, but Mr Duggan described the performance during the period as "positive", rather than exceptional. "The airline was already operating with high (cargo) load factors before disruption hit the region, which naturally limited the scope for significant additional volume growth. "Demand has strengthened, while pricing has also increased, reflecting higher operating costs, particularly for fuel," he added.

Mærsk vs Hapag - one freight spike, two very different report cards

In short: Maersk turned a war-disrupted freight market into its second guidance upgrade of the year; Hapag-Lloyd, running through the same market, missed. The gap looks less like a demand story and more like a costs-and-capacity one, and Hapag-Lloyd's bigger swing factor right now sits with Israeli regulators rather than freight rates. Maersk reported second-quarter underlying Ebitda of about $3bn, well above the roughly $2bn-2.1bn analysts had pencilled in across various consensus measures, with Ebit of about $1.6bn against ...