Scania steps up expansion in China
Scania is launching Venture & New Business China, a platform dedicated to developing and testing new opportunities in transport through partnerships with customers, suppliers and start-ups. The initiative aims to support the growth of Scania Group China and, in the longer term, strengthen its presence in an increasingly electrified and autonomous transport system. Initial activities will focus on the energy transition and autonomous transport, testing technologies and new business models directly in the market. The platform will also develop partnerships within the local ecosystem to support the introduction of new solutions. An operational role will be assigned to the Nantong and Rugao area, home to Scania's third industrial production hub, where trials will be carried out with customers and suppliers. The project will also draw on the group's local capabilities in research and development, purchasing and production, as well as the Scania and Next Era commercial offerings. Venture & New Business China will also work with local authorities and other organisations in the Chinese ecosystem. Kelly Fu has been appointed to lead the new operation as Scania Group's Regional Head of China Venture & New Business. Fu has experience in financial services, digital mobility, commercial vehicle technologies and new business development. More recently, she has worked on start-ups and emerging solutions for battery-electric and hydrogen-powered heavy transport.
Grottaglie opens cargo route to Istanbul
A weekly cargo service between Grottaglie Airport and Istanbul will begin on 3 October, operated by Poste Air Cargo under a Turkish Airlines air waybill. The service will use a Boeing 737F from the fleet of the Poste Italiane airline and is primarily intended to support agri-food exports from Puglia and southern Italy. Through Turkish Cargo's Istanbul hub, shipments will be able to continue to more than 300 destinations served by the Turkish carrier. At Grottaglie, Aeroporti di Puglia and sub-concessionaire Gesfa have already developed an integrated logistics hub for fresh goods and other sectors, including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, automotive and electronics. The hub will also see the testing of the Border Control Post, which will enable the handling of imported food products from non-EU countries. The service could also support part of the supply chain for Leonardo's Boeing 787 fuselage operations in Grottaglie. The project follows several attempts to launch the service that have been under discussion since at least 2021. To support the initial phase, Regione Puglia (Puglia Regional Government) has allocated just over €1.3 million over three years in the form of temporary, gradually declining financial support.
Lufthansa Cargo introduces Emergency
Lufthansa Cargo is expanding its portfolio of additional services with Emergency, a solution for critical shipments requiring the highest transport priority and dedicated handling throughout the journey. The service is available at more than 200 stations across the Lufthansa Group network and can also be booked at short notice, up to the applicable cargo acceptance deadline. Emergency allows customers to use the maximum available capacity on the booked aircraft, regardless of shipment size and weight. The service includes proactive 24-hour tracking during transport, with dedicated checks at Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna airports. In Frankfurt, shipments are handled through the time:matters courier terminal at Cargo City North, which has direct apron access to shorten transfer distances. Customer support, available in English and German 24 hours a day, monitors shipments and intervenes in the event of irregularities. Emergency can also be booked through Lufthansa Cargo's eBooking platform, subject to available capacity. It can be combined with the General cargo, Dangerous goods, Passive temp support and Vulnerables products, with td.Flash and td.Zoom speeds. The service also includes a money-back guarantee: subject to the applicable terms and conditions, this applies if the shipment is not available for collection within six hours of the stated time. Emergency brings the number of modular additional services offered by Lufthansa Cargo to six.
Limad considers stake in Atlas Air
Limad Holding is considering making an offer for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the air cargo operator controlled by Apollo Global Management. Atlas Air could be valued at at least $10 billion, although discussions are still at an early stage and Limad may decide not to proceed. Other industrial operators and private equity funds have also expressed preliminary interest. The transaction would strengthen the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund's presence in logistics and transport as the United Arab Emirates works to develop export routes that provide alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz. Limad has already announced plans to acquire full control of Abu Dhabi Ports, a group active in ports, maritime services and economic zones. In May, the fund also announced its participation, alongside BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, Temasek and Abu Dhabi National Oil, in an initiative targeting $30 billion of infrastructure projects. Atlas Air operates aircraft leasing and charter flights with a Boeing fleet, also providing crews, maintenance and insurance under some contracts. Apollo has invested in the company since 2022, when a group it led agreed to acquire Atlas Air for about $5.2 billion, including debt. The potential transaction therefore forms part of Limad's expansion of its infrastructure and logistics investments and the consolidation of Abu Dhabi's strategic assets.
