Cargojet sees revenues and earnings fall in Q4

Canadian freighter firm Cargojet saw its revenues and profits decline in the fourth quarter of the year as a result of lower transpacific demand. During the fourth quarter, the company saw revenues fall 2.9% year on year to C$284.7m, while earnings before income taxes fell 57.4% to C$32.9m and net earnings were down 62.6% to C$26.6m. The revenue decline came as aircraft were shifted to new routes on its ACMI and all-in charter business. ACMI revenues for the period fell by 22.6%, driven by global trade uncertainty and primarily due to the redeployment of aircraft from long-distance routes of Asia and Europe to certain South American routes. Meanwhile, all-in charter revenues were down 9.6% due to reductions in year-over-year frequency of scheduled charter services between China and Canada, partially offset by revenue from new charter opportunities. However, all-in charter revenues showed promising growth sequentially, the company said. In contrast, the company's domestic network was the star performer as revenues increased 16.9% year on year, as "Canadian consumer demand remained healthy in the face of trade uncertainty". The decrease in net earnings was primarily due to gross margin decrease, an increase in net finance costs and an increase in tax provision. "In the fourth quarter of 2025, Cargojet's continued focus on operational excellence and cost discipline allowed the company to successfully navigate an operating environment characterised by ongoing volatility in international trade and increasing geopolitical uncertainty," the company said in its full-year report. For the full year, revenues fell 0.8% year on year to C$992.7m and net earnings were down 26% to $80.2m. In terms of fleet, the company took delivery of two Boeing 767-300 owned aircraft under conversion during the second quarter of 2025 and had inducted them into its operational fleet. During the third quarter, the company sold these two aircraft to a financial institution and simultaneously leased them back. A third 767-300 aircraft remains under conversion and is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2026. In addition, the company completed the purchase of a factory-manufactured 767-300 freighter and had inducted it into the operational fleet in the third quarter of 2025. To support ongoing operational needs, the lease of one 767-200 aircraft has been extended through March 2026. In August 2025, the company signed a purchase and sale agreement for the sale of two 767-300 aircraft. It successfully closed the sale of one aircraft in the third quarter of 2025 and the second aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company signed a letter of intent in June 2025 to purchase a fully converted 767-300 aircraft and expects its delivery in the first quarter of 2026. During the third quarter, the Company leased one Boeing 757-200 aircraft to a third party.

OceanX: Iran attacks; China reopens; FreightTech challenges - The Loadstar

It seems we are back to geopolitical shocks stacking up, causing perpetual disruptions to the trade - as our industry tries to understand the impact, quickly processing lots of news from the past 72 hours. Reaction from the shipping world has been swift - as explained in a post by Guru Lars Jensen. With US-Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliation by Iranian forces across the Middle East, the impact on shipping is expected to be massive in ...

DHL-JD.com deal formalises China-EU retail corridor as de minimis reforms reshape ecommerce - The Loadstar

JD.com's European expansion has moved into a more strategic phase, with DHL Group signing an MoU that formalises a structured trade corridor between Germany, China and the wider EU - at a time when Brussels is tightening rules on low-value imports. Under the agreement, DHL will support German brands entering the Chinese market via JD.com's cross-border platform, while JD will provide those brands with access to European consumers through its new EU retail platform, Joybuy. The deal builds on JD's recent launch of JoyExpress, a branded last-mile delivery operation spanning the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France, backed by more than 60 warehouses and depots across Europe. Taken together, the moves suggest JD is embedding logistics, fulfilment and retail infrastructure inside the EU rather than relying primarily on parcel-by-parcel cross-border flows. The timing is notable. From July, the EU will apply a €3 customs duty to small consignments valued under €150, ahead of the full abolition of the de minimis exemption in 2028. Several member states have already introduced handling charges. A new report from Ti Insight, Cross-Border E-commerce Forecasts for a Post-de Minimis World, says the EU's reforms are expected to "remove simplified treatment for small consignments and increase compliance requirements, creating additional friction for cross-border parcel flows into the bloc". While Ti does not forecast a collapse in cross-border ecommerce, it warns that higher compliance costs "may either suppress low-value trade or accelerate shifts toward regional fulfilment and nearshoring models". That latter scenario appears to be happening. Chinese platforms including Shein, Temu and TikTok Shop have expanded EU-based warehousing and local fulfilment options in recent months. JD's JoyExpress network and its partnership with DHL add further weight to the localisation trend, suggesting that large players are designing a post-de minimis environment by positioning inventory inside Europe and managing customs processes in bulk. Ti's data underlines the broader context: cross-border ecommerce logistics grew from €63.3bn in 2022 to €96.1bn in 2025, but domestic logistics remains dominant, accounting for approximately 83%-84% of total market value. International flows, it notes, are expanding "largely in line with domestic demand rather than materially increasing their structural share of the overall market". The implication is not that cross-border ecommerce disappears, but that its structure evolves, with greater emphasis on managed corridors, consolidation and regional fulfilment. For airfreight markets, parcel-heavy ecommerce has been a significant demand driver on Asia-Europe lanes in recent years. If inventory is increasingly pre-positioned in EU distribution centres, the flow may shift from millions of small parcels to more consolidated, inventory-led movements and selective air use for replenishment. Ti notes that similar policy shifts in the US created a "structural headwind" for cross-border flows after the removal of simplified low-value treatment - a pattern Europe may now replicate. The timing of the DHL-JD partnership announcement, made while German chancellor Friedrich Merz is in Beijing, is also notable. Chancellor Merz described the widening trade imbalance between Germany and China as "not healthy", noting that imports from China were more than double exports last year. He called for steps to reduce the deficit, which has expanded sharply over the past five years. German industry groups have warned that competitive pressures from China are weighing on core sectors such as automotive and machinery. At the same time, Berlin has rejected outright decoupling, arguing that economic ties must be recalibrated rather than severed.