- HMM and Ocean Network Express (ONE) will introduce an enhanced service connecting Far East Asia with Latin America. This new product named Far East-Latin America Express (FLX). The port rotation of this service will be Shanghai (China), Busan (South Korea), Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico), Busan (South Korea), Shanghai (China). Totally it needs over 42 days for a complete round-trip.
- In June 2024, 1719 trains travelled on the China – Europe route, which is a growth of 15 per cent compared to the same period last year. Approximately 180,000 containers were shipped on the route, which is a growth of 11 per cent.
- China moves deeper into Europe with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). Since the beginning of 2024, the Middle Corridor has seen the movement of around 60 freight trains, but the new service is intended to encourage greater uptake by shippers. Trains are to run daily and China is eyeing 250 more services by the end of the year.
- The reopening of the Canfranc-Bedous border crossing, linking France and Spain along the Zaragoza-Pau line has been one of the most heated debates in the area. Now, the Spanish region of Aragon is asking that the railway, when reopened, will accommodate rolling highway services.
- Serbia and Montenegro have opened a joint rail border crossing. The facility is supposed to reduce travelling times for freight trains by at least an hour. It is located on the route towards the Montenegrin Port of Bar.
- MSC’s standalone Asia-North Europe shipping services have already captured up to a 9% market share of the trade.
- Work is nearing completion to link the Port of Cherbourg to France’s national rail network ahead of the launch of a rolling highway service for unaccompanied trailers, running between the Normandy port and Bayonne.
- Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s Gemini Cooperation, a capacity-sharing alliance between the second and fifth top global container lines, was put on hold on Friday by the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which is demanding “more information” to determine “potential competitive impacts”.
