Insight
Australasia: Project potential offered by port developments
Ports across Australasia and the Pacific are seeing major investment, from Flinders Adelaide’s expansion to PNG’s Kimbe rehabilitation and New Zealand’s revived Northport rail link. Governments are steering infrastructure policy in WA and Queensland, while Australia’s energy transition pipeline gains new silica, CCS and renewable projects. At the same time, Bass Strait decommissioning gathers pace, underlining both renewal and retirement across the region’s maritime landscape.
Growth in focus for DHL IP
Amid shifting market conditions and leadership changes, DHL’s Industrial Projects division is keeping its sights firmly on growth.
Bridging the skills gap in project forwarding and heavy lift
With young people hesitant to join an industry often perceived as unglamorous, project forwarders face mounting recruitment challenges. While traditional on-the-job training remains vital, innovations such as virtual reality simulators are helping to attract new talent and prepare the next generation for high-risk operations. Chris Lewis reports.
Hanging on to what they’ve got
Recruitment in the heavy lift and project freight forwarding sector is sluggish, according to leading practitioners in the field. With the outlook uncertain, people in good roles are tending to stay put, rather than seek greener grass elsewhere. Chris Lewis reports.
Germany makes inroads in easing heavy transport bottlenecks
Germany’s ageing transport infrastructure has made the movement of heavy and oversize cargoes around the country particularly challenging in recent years, with long waits for permits commonplace. However, recent developments, including updated transport regulations and a massive infrastructure spending package, should spark improvements. Daniel Searle reports.
RUD integrates Ox Worldwide to tackle heavy challenges
With nearly 150 years of engineering heritage, RUD continues to evolve its under-the-jib lifting solutions to meet the demands of modern industry. The company’s portfolio has now expanded with the integration of OX Worldwide into the mix.
pewag builds momentum
With the aim of providing a streamlined service whilst keeping a spotlight firmly on safety, efficiency, and adaptability, pewag group united its UK brands under one umbrella in March 2025: Modulift by pewag, Load Monitoring Systems (LMS) by pewag, and pewag UK. The following month, it acquired Aberdeen Web. Joshua Allen finds out how the the integration has progressed and learns more about the venture’s latest products.
Storm risks and fires at sea highlight insurance challenge
As the offshore wind energy sector develops off the US East Coast, the insurance sector is struggling to keep pace with its unique and concentrated risks, compounded by the lack of suitable catastrophe models. Meanwhile, two serious fires at sea have reignited concerns over the safe transport of electric vehicles and hazardous materials, underlining persistent vulnerabilities in the maritime sector. Gregory DL Morris reports.
WireCo expands range to meet heavy lift demands
USA-based WireCo has strengthened its position in the rope market with three new high-performance solutions – Casar Lazerlift, Casar Boomfit, and Oliveira Durascend. Joshua Allen spoke with the company’s chief technical officer David Rowatt to discuss the merits of each product.
Brazil struggles under weight of regulation and infrastructure
Brazil’s project cargo sector faces a complex web of inland bottlenecks, volatile trade dynamics, and lingering investor uncertainty. As global freight patterns shift and tariffs seesaw, local infrastructure and bureaucracy remain the true barriers to progress.
Data centre boom requires energy sector scale-up
Investment in data centres is surging at an unprecedented pace, and the global supply chain is rapidly mobilising to deliver the large-scale infrastructure needed to support this growth. As these facilities come online, a diverse and scalable energy mix will be essential to meet their rising electricity requirements.
TGP trains sights on Southeast Asia
Earlier this year, project forwarder Trans Global Projects (TGP) established an office in Shah Alam, Malaysia to tap into what it described as a “strategic hub” and strengthen its presence across Southeast Asia. Led by Lim Ling Ling – well known to the Southeast Asian project market having spent upwards of 30 years at Megalift – the TGP team in Malaysia is currently operating with a lean, core team focused on establishing operational foundations and client engagement.
