When markets break, most industries struggle.
Freight forwarders? They often make more.

In this episode of the Freight Buyers’ Club, Oliver Gritz (former CFO of DHL Express and Founder & CEO of Ontegos Cloud) explains why crisis creates opportunity in freight—and why some forwarders thrive while others fall behind.

From war-driven disruption and supply chain chaos to liquidity stress and missed revenue, we break down what’s really happening inside freight forwarding in 2026.

If you’re in freight, logistics, or global trade—this is what separates the winners from everyone else.

What you’ll learn:

• Why forwarders make more money in volatile markets
• The role of data in real-time supply chain decisions
• Where forwarders lose 3–5% of profit (and how to fix it)
• How top performers manage cash flow under pressure
• What “winning the crisis” actually looks like operationally

About the guest:
Oliver Gritz is the Founder & CEO of Ontegos Cloud and former CFO of DHL Express. With decades of experience inside global logistics, he now advises freight forwarders on profitability, data, and operational performance.

Listen / follow Freight Buyers’ Club:
Podcast: https://www.thefreightbuyersclub.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefreightbuyersclub2866

#FreightForwarding #Logistics #SupplyChain

Gulf air cargo hubs have taken a serious hit since the Middle East war began. The world's most strategically positioned freight network is under pressure - and the industry wants to know if it comes back.

In this segment from the latest Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah sit down with Ram Menen - the man who spent nearly 28 years building Emirates SkyCargo and helped make Dubai one of the great global freight hubs - to ask the question the whole industry is asking: do the Gulf hubs come back, and how long does it take?

Together they cover the hub geography, the belly cargo and passenger confidence question, how this crisis ranks against Gulf War I, 9/11, SARS and COVID, whether forwarders building alternative routes creates a permanent market shift, and why Ram believes air cargo recovers faster than ocean shipping.

Ram's verdict: Gulf War III. Temporary setback, not existential crisis.

The full episode also features exclusive air cargo rate analysis from TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Exchange Baltic Air Freight Indices, plus Bachi Spiga from DHL Express Middle East and North Africa on how DHL kept every country in the region served from day two of the conflict.

Full episode: ▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/YQROEd_DSAc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OW32v9r8ZVejCWJ5oiB8r?si=beb29a01eeaf414b Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/air-cargo-unpacked-middle-east-war-fuel-crisis-capacity/id1668766055?i=1000761786379 thefreightbuyersclub.com: https://www.thefreightbuyersclub.com/podcast/air-cargo-unpacked-middle-east-war-fuel-crisis-capacity-disruption-and-global-fallout/

Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, freight forwarder profitability specialists: https://www.ontegos.cloud/

#AirCargo #AirFreight #MiddleEast #GulfAirCargo #Emirates #AirCargoUnpacked #FreightBuyersClub #OntegosCloud #BalticAirFreightIndex #TACIndex

The Middle East war that began on February 28th has sent shockwaves through global air cargo. Jet fuel has nearly doubled. Gulf hub capacity is still less than 60% of normal. And a fragile ceasefire has done little to restore confidence in the region's critical air corridors.

In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah are joined by air cargo legend Ram Menen, who spent nearly 28 years building Emirates SkyCargo and helped make Dubai one of the great global freight hubs. Ram gives his verdict on what this crisis means for the region, how it compares to Gulf War I, 9/11 and COVID, and whether the Gulf's geographic advantage can survive the damage.

We also have Bachi Spiga, VP Network Operations at DHL Express Middle East and North Africa, on how DHL rewired its entire regional operation to keep trade moving, and Neil Wilson and Peyton Burnett from TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, on what the rate data is telling us right now. And we walk through exclusive capacity and fuel analysis from Rotate, giving a granular picture of what has actually happened to the global network since February 28th.

Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. https://www.ontegos.cloud/

In this episode we cover:

• Ram Menen on the history, the crisis and why he calls this a temporary setback rather than an existential threat to Gulf aviation
• Why the ceasefire changes less than you might think, and what actually needs to happen before normal returns
• Gulf recovery airport by airport, with Dubai at 54%, Doha at 50%, Bahrain and Kuwait at zero
• Global capacity shifts by trade lane, including a 28% surge on Asia-Europe as carriers bypass the Gulf
• Why jet fuel is still 70% above pre-conflict levels despite easing on ceasefire news
• Southeast Asia's fuel import dependency and why Vietnam, Hong Kong and Australia are most at risk
• How DHL rewired its Middle East network to keep trade moving
• Rate movements across the key corridors since February 28th, with Baltic Air Freight Index data from TAC Index
• The 777-200 freighter conversion approval and whether it moves the needle on the capacity crunch

Journalism featured in this episode:

• Damian Brett, Air Cargo News: "Airfreight recovery could take months after US-Iran ceasefire"
• Greg Knowler, Journal of Commerce: "Rising jet fuel costs challenging freighter viability as war enters second month"
• Eric Kulisch, FreightWaves: "FAA approves 1st Boeing 777-200 passenger-to-freighter conversion"

Data: TAC Index / Baltic Air Freight Indices. Rotate.

#AirCargo #AirFreight #MiddleEast #GulfAirCargo #FreightRates #JetFuel #SupplyChain #Logistics #FreightBuyersClub #AirCargoUnpacked #OntegosCloud #BalticAirFreightIndex #TACIndex #DHL #Emirates