(Bloomberg) — The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on commercial aviation, but Alexey Isaykin’s cargo carrier has been fully loaded.Volga-Dnepr Group has flown more than 3,000 breeding pigs to China from France this year. The animals — transported 6,450 miles (10,400 kilometers) in wooden crates in the hold of a Boeing 747 cargo plane — are being used to restore local livestock levels to help mitigate shortages in the world’s largest pork market after an outbreak of African swine fever decimated China’s hog herds.Measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus amplified those swine shortages and accelerated attempts to boost the population of domestic herds. China imported a total 254,533 tons of pork in the first four months of the year from the U.S., which overtook Europe to become China’s largest pork supplier. That’s already more than the 245,000 tons China bought for the whole of 2019.The cargo is a sign of the shifting demand that Isaykin’s company — known for transporting everything from satellites to emergency bridges — is experiencing as the pandemic reshapes his industry.The company is also shipping masks, hazmat suits, medical equipment and even street-disinfecting vehicles to countries like Russia, France and Germany as they battle to contain the virus. Volga-Dnepr’s sales rose 32% to $630 million this year through April compared with the same period in 2019.“Global aviation is going through its most challenging time ever, but for cargo carriers like us it’s a chance,” Isaykin said in a Zoom interview from Moscow. “Previously, more than half of all aviation cargoes were carried in the luggage compartments of passenger planes. With this supply vanishing from the market, demand for cargo airlines surged and prices more than doubled.”While demand for air freight dropped 28% in April compared with a year earlier, capacity fell by 42%, according to the International Air Transport Association. Isaykin’s stake in closely held Volga-Dnepr is estimated to be worth around $700 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Russian company’s revenue may increase by a third this year to $2 billion, Isaykin predicts.Expanding GeographyThe overall rise in sales has come even as some revenue streams shrink. Shipments for the aerospace industry have fallen by about a third compared with last year, Isaykin said.Medical goods now account for more than half of global air freight, with e-commerce cargo for firms like Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. another growing category.Volga-Dnepr’s footprint is also shifting, Isaykin said.“The geography of our shipments is expanding, following the spread of coronavirus,” Isaykin said. “We just started shipping Chinese medical goods to Africa and are getting first inquiries from Latin America. I think India will be next.”Some of this demand may prove to be short-lived. Freight rates have started to decline, and the market for shipping health-related cargo may drop in the second half of the year, Isaykin said. Still, he expects volumes and prices to stay above the “pre-virus” level with fewer passenger planes expected to be flying.Some new business may herald lasting changes to the world economy. While his carrier is shipping pigs to China, it’s also ferrying assets the other way. The company recently transported a production line for making masks to Russia’s Tatarstan region from China.“An interesting trend is gaining traction now — we call it the medieval period of the 21st century — when strategically important production facilities are being relocated to reduce dependence on China,” Isaykin said. “I am expecting this trend to accelerate toward year-end.”(Updates with air freight data in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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Boeing Co is aiming to conduct a key certification test flight on its grounded 737 MAX in late June, two people briefed on the matter said. The 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Boeing told airlines it hopes to conduct the flight in late June and also notified them of a fix to address safety concerns about the placement of wiring bundles, the sources said.
Investors who owned stocks in the 2010s generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500's (NYSE: SPY) total return for the decade was 250.5%. But there's no question some big-name stocks did much better than others along the way.Marathon's Difficult Decade: One underperformer of the last decade was U.S. oil exploration & production company Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO).Marathon's past 10 years were dominated by a major restructuring, a surge in U.S. shale oil production and an unprecedented collapse in oil prices due to COVID-19.Marathon shares started the 2010s trading at around $19.25 but hit their decade-high above $37.99 in mid-2014 just prior to the first collapse in oil prices. That first downturn was driven by a supply glut credited in large part to a booming U.S. shale oil industry.In 2011, during the shale oil boom, Marathon restructured its company, spinning off its refining business into its own entity. The E&P business continued trading as Marathon under the ticker "MRO," and the refining company began trading as Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE: MPC).The spinoff was structured so that Marathon Oil shareholders received one share of MPC stock for every two shares of MRO they held.2020 And Beyond: Marathon Oil shares have drifted steadily lower over the past six years since the oil market peaked in 2014. Marathon shares are down 71.7% overall in the past five years, dipping to all-time lows of $3.02 earlier this year when oil prices plunged briefly into negative territory. Yet Marathon Petroleum has held up relatively well, preserving value for investors.At Marathon's $19.25 opening price for the decade, an investor would have been able to buy about 52 shares of Marathon stock for $1,000. Those shares would have entitled investors to 26 shares of MPC stock following the spin-off.Therefore, $1,000 worth of Marathon Oil stock in 2010 would now be worth about $492, assuming reinvested dividends.The 26 shares of MPC initially worth about $546 have generated a total return of about 142.3% since the spin-off and would now be worth about $1,322. So overall, $1,000 worth of Marathon Oil stock in 2010 would be worth around $1,814 today, assuming reinvested dividends.Looking ahead, analysts expect even more difficulties for Marathon in 2020. The average price target among the 26 analysts covering the stock is $6, suggesting 22.5% downside. Related Links:Here's How Much Investing ,000 In The 2014 GrubHub IPO Would Be Worth Today Here's How Much Investing ,000 In The 2011 Spirit Airlines IPO Would Be Worth TodaySee more from Benzinga * GasBuddy Analyst Talks Battered Oil Industry, Why Gasoline Prices Aren't Lower * 'An Outlier Event': Experts React To Oil Prices Dropping Below 'An Outlier Event': Experts React To Oil Prices Dropping Below $0 * 9 Worst-Performing Stocks Of 2020: Buy, Sell Or Hold?(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.