Market Update Region MEA

Market Update

Thank you for visiting our page and showing interest in our MEA Market Reader. Below you will find brief summaries for a quick overview of the latest supply chain developments in the Middle East and Africa region. You can download the full version from the beside section for a more in-depth analysis.

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Summary of the Market Update 08/2024

Developments in the Middle East and Africa

Egypt’s currency edges higher against the USD after price hikes
Oracle has opened its second cloud region in Saudi Arabia, giving a boost to Riyadh's digital transformation strategy
KSA plans to have 15 football stadiums by 2034, incl. 11 new ones, with one in NEOM which will rise 350m above the ground
Oman plans to build a new LNG train that will raise export capacity by 1/3
Egypt signed agreements to invest $340 million to boost oil and gas production in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez
New unity government in South Africa is helping to bolster sentiment and investment according to the Banking Association South Africa

- Weekly price average at the end of CW 29 is at $100.75/bbl – a decrease of -2.7% vs. prior week and -10.3% vs. prior year
- Global cargo CTKs continue to be strong at 10% YoY increase. E-Commerce and the Middle East Crisis are still the main drivers
- Dnata is aiming to ramp up its use of digital and autonomous technology over the next two years
- Saudi Air has reduced flight frequency ex ID from 4 flights per day to only 2 flights per Day
- AF/KLM has begun a new weekly Boeing 747 freighter service operated by Martinair between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and Dubai World Central Airport (DWC)
- Etihad Cargo is looking to meet rising demand to the US and Canada through the addition of extra capacity to key North American destinations (the carrier offers an extra 250 tonnes per week to New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston and Toronto)
- Emirates SkyCargo orders five more Boeing 777 Freighters
- Qatar Airways orders 20 more Boeing 777-9 aircraft
- Riyadh Air and Delta sign strategic agreement
- The global ocean freight market is expected to remain tight over the coming weeks, this includes longer transit times and compromised schedules. Equipment remains tight, with occasional shortages across Asia/ISC. Space/supply also remains tight, especially ex Asia. Current carrier utilization is very comfortable with roll-over scenarios. Congestion is increasing around the world, with high yard density in some areas. Rates remain volatile. Surcharges/adders have been implemented by carriers across main routes since the start of the year. Carriers are using the current momentum ex Asia to continue to push for GRI’s/PSS and similar in various trades during the next weeks. The Panama Canal draught limits are improving daily, and are nearly back to full capacity
- In June 2024, global schedule reliability dropped by -1.2 percentage points M/M to 54.4%. This is keeping in line with the trends seen so far in 2024, where global schedule reliability has largely been within 50%-55%. On a Y/Y level, however, schedule reliability in June 2024 was -9.8 percentage points lower. The average delay for LATE vessel arrivals also deteriorated, increasing by 0.04 days M/M to 5.19 days. This is now the third-highest figure for the month, only surpassed by the pandemic highs of 2021-2022. On a Y/Y level, the June 2024 figure was 0.82 days higher
- Schedule reliability on the Middle East-Asia trade lane increased by 0.5 percentage points M/M in May/June 2024 and reached 34.2%. On a Y/Y level, May/June 2024 schedule reliability was -21.0 percentage points lower than at the same point in 2023. The average delay for LATE vessel arrivals increased M/M by 0.81 days to 5.82 days. Schedule reliability on the Africa-Asia trade lane increased by 8.6 percentage points M/M and reached 39.2% in May/June 2024. On a Y/Y level, schedule reliability was -25.6 percentage points lower than the 64.7% recorded in May/June 2024. The average delay for LATE vessel arrivals improved, decreasing by -0.15 days M/M and reaching 5.01 days
- In May/June 2024, schedule reliability on the Middle East-Europe trade lane increased by 4.0 percentage points M/M to 53.1%. On a Y/Y level, schedule reliability was -10.3 percentage points lower than at the same point in 2023. The average delay for LATE vessel arrivals improved M/M, decreasing by -0.53 days M/M to 4.47 days. Schedule reliability on the Africa-Europe trade lane decreased by -3.4 percentage points M/M in May/June 2024, reaching 61.8%. On a Y/Y level, May/June 2024 schedule reliability was -9.7 percentage points lower than at the same point last year. The average delay for late vessel arrivals deteriorated M/M, increasing by 0.18 days and reaching 5.56 days