Manik Mehta

Manik Mehta, AJOT’s international correspondent, specializes in and has written extensively on international affairs/diplomacy, global trade and business, logistics/supply chains, shipping, aviation, infrastructure, specialized segments (steel, textiles, automobiles, technology/AI, etc). Manik, who was educated in India, Germany, U.K. and the U.S., has an excellent knowledge of German and two Asian languages.

After graduating with a B.A. (Hon) Degree from Bombay (now Mumbai) University, he awarded a scholarship in Germany to pursue post-graduate studies in German literature and philology.  Manik holds a Diploma (Hon) in Journalism from the London School of Journalism (LSJ) and, later, obtained a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Boston University, specializing in foreign policy issues, changing patterns in global affairs/trade, Germany’s post-war unique status following the creation of the Berlin Wall and, in effect, the (now defunct) GDR, emergence of new powers (now forming the much-discussed multipolar system), etc.  He has also done many book reviews.  His stories have appeared in the American Journal of Transportation for over 20 years.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/672-brownsville-breakbulk.jpg
Port of Brownsville positions itself as a “gateway” to Mexico and Latin America

The mood at the “gateway” to Mexico and Latin America, as Port of Brownsville (PoB) likes to profile itself, is upbeat as it tries to implement its expansion plans, aided by the prospect of a number of big-ticket projects being set up on its land.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/671-hamburg-sud-santa-clara-port-hamburg.jpg
European ports are optimistic but fear trade war could disrupt shipping and cargo traffic

Despite the optimism generally prevalent among most European ports, which have benefited in the past from the tailwinds accompanying world trade, representatives of these ports express concern over the possible impact of the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on Trans-Atlantic trade and shipping.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/669-peter-altmaier.jpg
Europeans on tenterhooks amid fears of outbreak of a trade war

Reporting from Frankfurt, Germany, AJOT correspondent Manik Mehta writes Europeans are unhappy with the Trump Administration’s moves on steel and aluminum, a policy being referred to as the “theater of the absurd” by an Austrian industrialist. Is this the prelude to a trade war?

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/666-danzig-port.jpg
Baltic Ports see business opportunities inherent in Polar Silk Road to China

Ports in the Baltic region are building up an effective trading route, the Polar Silk Road, to China with some Nordic shippers touting it as a “win-win” situation. While the hyperbole may mask some of the infrastructure issues that still need to be sorted out, the Baltic ports see business opportunities inherent in the Polar Silk Road to increase their tonnage volume resulting from rising trade with China.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/657-kazakhastan-fdfm-mukhlar-tileuberdi.jpg
Kazakhstan’s focus on renewable energy and infrastructure development aimed at boosting trade

Kazakhstan is looking for economic and energy diversity to sustain growth in the coming decades.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/656-brownsville-arial.jpg
Port of Brownsville’s infrastructure development will strengthen its position

Port of Brownsville, located on the U.S.-Mexican border, is embarking on a $250 million infrastructure project that will deepen the port’s channel to 52 feet. The added depth is needed to keep Brownsville competitive and growing.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/652-duisburg-connection.jpg
The Duisburg connection

From its former provincial character, the Duisburg port in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia is becoming a player in international shipping, its significance receiving a big boost with the recent focus on the Belt-Road-Initiative in Beijing.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/652-european-trade.jpg
Despite the hype, Europeans skeptical about the real motives behind China’s Belt-Road-Initiative

The German term “neue Seidenstrasse“ (the new silk road) is used to refer to what the Chinese President Xi Jinping calls the Belt-Road-Initiative (BRI), which was originally called One Belt One Road project.

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/647-hapag-lloyd-port-hamburg.jpg
Hapag-Lloyd does not plan any further acquisitions

“at least for now”

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/636-jebel-ali-free-zone-dubai-uae.jpg
Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone positioning itself as nexus for Middle East manufacturing and trade

Dubai’s JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone) profiles itself as “ideal site” in the Gulf for setting up manufacturing and trading operations.

© Copyright 1999–2026 American Journal of Transportation. All Rights Reserved