Cargolux has reported a post-tax profit of $1.6bn for last year, up 21.9% on 2021. Revenues rose 14.7% year on year. The company says the result was boosted by a strong first half of 2021, which saw high revenues per tonne-kilometre and large volumes. Cargolux ended the year with a fleet of 30 aircraft comprising 16 Boeing 747-400 and 14 Boeing 747-8 freighters.

Deutsche Bahn has completed the first practical digital freight train trial with several prototypes of digital automatic couplers. The technologies automate an otherwise manual process, making it faster and safer. The German ministry for digital affairs and transport has already invested around €13m in the test and is planning to inject a further €7m in an additional phase.

The Port of Rotterdam has partnered with the Port of Mannheim to develop a zero-emissions transport corridor for freight transport by road, water, and rail. The two ports will look to facilitate the transport of alternative renewable energy carriers along the Rhine corridor between Rotterdam and Mannheim.

CFL cargo and Bertani Trasporti have launched a new rail connection between Gliwice Port in Poland and Marckolsheim in France. The train, which has a transport capacity of 19 wagons, will run two round trips per week on the 1,300km route, transferring the equivalent of more than 2,300 trucks from road to rail and saving around 10,200 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Peakside Capital Advisors has paid an indisclosed sum for three mixed-use logistics assets at Frankfurt Airport for its Peakside Real Estate Fund IV. Peakside plans to upgrade the facilities, which include a 20,000-square-metre parking deck at Frankfurt Airport’s CargoCity Süd air freight hub, to boost the logistics rental potential of the fund.

Private sector companies had a 51% share of the European rail freight market in 2022, marking the first time non-state-owned operators have accounted for the majority of cargo activity by rail, according to the European Rail Freight Association. The private sector also comprises subsidiaries of national train operators acting as commercial entities. In 2010, incumbent operators accounted for a 75% market share.

New heavy goods vehicles tariffs are set to come into force on Belgian roads on July 1. The new charges per kilometre will depend on the location of the road, the Euro emission standard of the truck and the gross vehicle weight category (3.5 to 12 tonnes, 12 to 32 tonnes, and more than 32 tonnes).

FedEx Express has opened its redeveloped Dutch international road hub in Duiven. The 24,000-square-metre facility is located on a 148,000-square-metre site and features new sorting technology able to process around 200,000 parcels a day. It now boasts additional dock doors and new gates for faster entry, with a 20% increase in the trailer parking area.

UK-based cargo handler Magma Aviation has launched a new service between Liège Airport and China’s Nanchang Changbei International Airport, which will operate three to four times per week. Magma’s first China routing gives it 29 dedicated weekly flights per week for clients in Europe, the US, Asia and Africa, and the company says it plans to add further Asia-Pacific capacity in 2023.

Maastricht Aachen Airport has started a €35.3m runway upgrade to extend its operational length to better serve air cargo services. The airport is the second-largest cargo hub in the Netherlands, is CEIV-pharma certified and specialises in handling flowers, dangerous goods and e-commerce.

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has reported a first-quarter 11.8% year-on-year drop in freight traffic to 1.6bn revenue-tonne kms, with revenues down 26.1% to €672m. The carrier says demand for air cargo declined due to slower growth of global trade and the partial rebound of sea freight.

France’s Haropa Port has partnered with Hapag-Lloyd to launch a new weekly service, FE9, to Asia. The Wednesday stopover at the Terminal de France in Le Havre is operated by Générale de manutention portuaire and offers connections with Singapore, taking 23 days, and Qingdao in China (37 days).