“Curiosity of the Day” 
The master confectioner Josef Keller (1887–1981), known as ‘Sweet Josef’, claimed that he invented the Black Forest cake in April 1915. more
SAF-Holland reaches production milestone 
SAF-Holland has reached a production milestone with its three-millionth axle manufactured at Plant 03 in Bessenbach, Germany. The site has been a hub for axle and suspension system production since 2000, particularly for the 'SAF Intra' series, used in 9-ton trailer operations.... more
Vinicius Patel appointed chair of ESI board
Vinicius Patel, director of port administration at Porto do Açu in Brazil, has been appointed chair of the board of the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). He succeeds Eric van der Schans from the port of Rotterdam, who held the position since 2020. Patel is also IAPH vice-president... more
ZIM expands LNG fleet with ten new vessels
ZIM has signed long-term charter agreements for ten 11,500 teu LNG dual-fuel containerships, valued at USD 2.3 billion. Seven vessels will be provided by TMS Group affiliate Containers Ventures Holdings Inc., and three by a company linked to Kenon Holdings. The ships will be... more
Is this the opening gambit?
Two Panama Canal ports go to US investor. Just days after he took office US president Donald Trump announced his intention to restore US control over the Panama Canal, which was handed back to Panama in 1999. The change of ownership of two ports may lend weight to that plan. more
Connecting trade across continents
Colombian IT firm acquired by Wisetech. Wisetech Global, an Australian developer that produces the logistics software ‘Cargowise’, has signed an agreement to acquire Opentecnología, a firm based in Bogotá specialising in customs and logistics technology. more
Throughput on the rise
Survey by the Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários. Brazil’s ministry of ports and airports has reported that the country handled record cargo volumes at its ports last year. A total of 1.32 billion t of freight passed through the country’s hubs in twelve months. One port... more
A silk road in the Mexican skies
The Uzbek cargo carrier My Freighter and Aeromexico have launched a strategic interline partnership to boost cargo connectivity between Mexico and Central Asia. Since 1 April the agreement has enabled seamless transfers, granting My Freighter access to Mexico City,... more
Joining IT forces to secure port flows
France PCS and Orange Cyberdefense have announced the deployment of a joint ‘security operations centre’ (SOC) to monitor and protect France’s port community systems, managed by MGI and Soget. These platforms handle 99% of the country’s maritime import and export... more
Another step in ‘buy and build’
The Schneider Group has acquired Nord-Transport (NT), both headquartered in Basel (Switzerland), thus strengthening its international road and overseas logistics offering. NT, known for its strong regional roots and high-quality service, will continue to operate from... more