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Incheon Port aims to boost container flows from Malaysia and India

South Korea's Incheon port is seeking to open more container shipping links with Malaysia's Port Klang and India's emerging market. Incheon Port Authority (IPA) officials and representatives of South Korean liner operators HMM, KMTC Line, and Namsung Shipping visited Port Klang and India recently. The geopolitical crisis in the Middle East has seen Port Klang-Incheon cargo flows drop 34% last year and another 13% in the first five months of this year. Malaysia's main container port is South-east Asia's busiest, after Singapore, and by strengthening its relationship with Port Klang, Incheon, the gateway into the Seoul metropolitan area, can tap into the region's vast network of feeder services and shipping routes, allowing it to offer shippers more destinations without needing to establish direct services to each. Port Klang has successfully competed with nearby ports like Singapore by offering significantly lower transhipment costs, sometimes up to 30%-40% lower, and for shipping lines, this makes it a highly cost-effective option. Port Klang is also seen as an alternative way to get South Korean exports, especially batteries, to South-east and South Asia and the Middle East, as Asian ports become more congested. Despite the high volumes, Port Klang has shown its ability to manage congestion, through strategies like diverting ships between its two main terminals (Northport and Westport), and streamlining gate operations. The South Korean delegates went on to Chennai. Container flows between Incheon and India grew 37% year on year between January and May, and IPA plans a new direct shipping service. IPA VP (operations) Kim Sang-ki said: "We're actively working to open up shipping routes for the smooth local export of promising South Korean exports like cosmetics, food, and fashion."

DP World signs 50-year concession to develop new UAE terminal outside Hormuz

DP World confirmed today that it had reached an agreement with Fujairah Ports Authority to build two new terminals on the UAE's east coast - and outside of the Hormuz Strait - under a 50-year concession. The two facilities will be the Al Rugaylat container and multi-purpose terminal, and the Dibba General Cargo terminal, and in combination will increase DP World's total container handling capacity in the UAE from 19.4m teu to almost 22m teu, while significantly expanding general cargo and ro-ro capabilities. "Fujairah strengthens what Jebel Ali already delivers -- a single, global integrated platform for moving goods across global supply chains and within the UAE and beyond," Yuvraj Narayan, DP World's group chief executive officer said. "With Jebel Ali operating at high utilisation, this development provides the additional capacity to support long-term growth. "For cargo owners, it means greater flexibility, more choice and stronger supply chain resilience," he added. However, according to an Alphaliner analysis, both DP World's and AD Ports home terminals have seen traffic plummet since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran conflict. "Both of the UAE's main hubs in the Gulf, Jebel Ali in Dubai and the AD Ports-operated Khalifa Seaport in Abu Dhabi, have experienced a massive drop in activity since the Iran conflict escalated, which led to repeated closures (or de facto closures) of the Strait of Hormuz," Alphaliner said today. "Located outside the Gulf, Fujairah offers direct access to the Indian Ocean, making it a strategically important gateway for liner shipping." The project will establish a new deep-water trade gateway on the UAE's east coast, capable of handling the latest generation of Ultra Large Container Vessels, with the Al Rugaylat container terminal designed to handle up to 2.5m teu annually, alongside 1.7m tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 Car Equivalent Units (CEUs), Dibba will add up to a further 3.6m tonnes of annual general cargo capacity. "The partnership with DP World marks an important milestone in Fujairah's continued development as one of the region's most important maritime gateways," said Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohamed Al Sharqi, chairman of Fujairah Ports Authority. "The Al Rugaylat and Dibba terminals will bring world-class operating capability, expanded capacity and new investment to the emirate. "We look forward to working with DP World to deliver a project that will benefit customers, communities and the UAE's wider economy," he added. The new development, which is expected to take somewhere between two and two and a half years' to complete, will come alongside an expansion to Gulftainer's Khor Fakkan container terminal, as previously reported by The Loadstar, and means that since Iran first closed Hormuz around 7.5m teu of new terminal capacity outside Hormuz is now planned. "This development will add significant new capability to Fujairah's port infrastructure and enhance the range and quality of services we can offer to cargo owners and logistics customers," Captain Mousa Murad, Fujairah Ports Authority managing director, said "By combining Fujairah's strategic location with DP World's operating expertise, we aim to deliver modern, efficient terminals that support regional trade flows, strengthen connectivity and meet the highest international standards," he added. Meanwhile, DP World recently announced it had acquired 700 new trucks expressly for the purpose of operating landbridge container movements that are likely to be a foundation of the new terminal's cargo base.

Scale or specialisation? DSV and K+N chart different paths to forwarding success

The world's two largest freight forwarders appear to be pursuing increasingly different paths to growth. Acquisitive DSV has placed multi-billion-dollar bets on scale, and is now integrating DB Schenker into what it hopes will become an unrivalled global forwarding network. Kuehne+Nagel, meanwhile, favours targeted acquisitions that strengthen specific capabilities, with its results focused on operational efficiency, artificial intelligence, and higher-margin customers rather than sheer size. The latest half-year results suggest both strategies have merit. Air freight was strong for both, benefiting from demand for AI infrastructure and technology shipments, while ocean freight remained resilient, despite continuing market uncertainty. At DSV, the story is still one of integration. Air & Sea revenue rose 32% in the first half, as Schenker contributed additional volumes, while management said integration was now beginning to translate into improved profitability. The group continues to target Dkr9bn of annual synergies from the acquisition by 2027. CEO Jens Lund told analysts the benefits were only beginning to emerge. He said: "All in all, on the Air & Sea side, I think we are on the right track and the division is going to deliver continued progress also in the coming quarters, because we are very advanced on integration." First-half revenue in air was up 36%, with gross profit rising 24% on volumes up 28%. In Sea, revenue went up 21.6%, while gross profit rose 4.9%, on a volume rise of 24%. Mr Lund acknowledged ocean volumes had been weaker than expected, but said initiatives were under way to improve growth. Road Logistics continued to present operational challenges, he said, despite management changes and higher earnings following the Schenker acquisition. By contrast, K+N's results focused less on scale than on extracting more value from existing business. The Swiss forwarder's Air Logistics division produced one of its strongest quarters in recent years, with EBIT climbing 35%, to Sfr154m on revenues up 20%, while for the first half, air revenue was up 4.2%, with EBIT up 15%. Management attributed the improvement to market share gains and a stronger customer mix, particularly in technology. CEO Stefan Paul said simply: "Air Logistics delivered an excellent quarter, increasing profit by 35%." K+N highlighted specific growth opportunities, including the movement of cloud infrastructure equipment for Google between Asia and the US, illustrating how AI investment was becoming a significant driver of premium air cargo demand. In ocean freight, DSV highlighted the benefits of procurement scale and Schenker synergies, while K+N focused on execution. Its Sea Logistics division lifted its conversion ratio to 29%, despite subdued European export demand, helped by tighter cost control and market share gains on the Asia-Europe and transpacific trades. The difference extended well beyond air and sea: K+N repeatedly returned to themes of productivity, efficiency, and AI deployment, saying it was accelerating the roll-out of AI agents to optimise operational processes. Contract Logistics also benefited from new technology customers, with more than 300,000 sq metres of additional warehouse capacity dedicated to cloud infrastructure providers. DSV's AI ambitions are no less significant, but are more aimed at making an ever-larger global network more productive. Technology was discussed as an enabler of integration, standardisation, and scale. While DSV has been the poster boy for M&A in the sector, K+N has continued to acquire businesses, but largely through smaller, targeted deals. Loadstar Premium's exclusive report that K+N is considering a future separation of Apex would only reinforce that focus on portfolio optimisation rather than transformational expansion. The financial results suggest both strategies are delivering, albeit in different ways. DSV generated first-half revenue of Dkr147.1bn ($22.7bn) and EBIT before special items of Dkr11.1bn ($1.7bn), equating to an operating margin of 7.5%. K+N reported Sfr12.4bn ($15.4bn) in net turnover and recurring EBIT of Sfr726m ($900m), representing a margin of 5.9%. DSV's larger scale following the Schenker acquisition has enabled it to generate almost twice as much operating profit as its Swiss rival, while also producing a higher return on revenue. Whether that advantage proves sustainable, or whether K+N's more targeted, efficiency-led approach ultimately delivers better long-term returns may become one of the defining strategic questions for the forwarding industry.