Global air cargo volumes fell -4% year-on-year in February as available cargo capacity rose above the pre-pandemic level for the first time in four years, according to the latest weekly market analysis from CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta. Global air cargo capacity increased for the eleventh consecutive month in February, up 11% on the same period last year. The global average air freight spot rate of USD 2.73 per kg declined -35% year-on-year but remained +52% ahead of the pre-Covid level seen in 2019. Niall van de Wouw, Chief Airfreight Officer at Xeneta, said the latest data means it’s time for the industry to let go of pre-Covid comparisons and to acknowledge a new baseline for air cargo market growth. “CLIVE Data Services was one of the first industry analysts to benchmark data versus the pre-pandemic level because a comparison was needed at the time to accurately measure air cargo’s performance. But the fascination and rhetoric around airfreight rates going back to the 2019 level needs to be replaced based on the inflationary components we now see. Name me a service or product that you acquired four years ago that you’re still paying the same price for now? The air cargo industry should be focused on where growth is going to come from because the general air cargo volumes have seen negative growth for four years, and based on the first two months of 2023 are still -8% in terms of chargeable weight compared to four years ago. That is not a growth market,” he said, adding 2019 was also a relatively weak year for air cargo after a buoyant 2018. He added: “The volumes are not there, flights …

GMR Aero Technic (GAT), the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) division of GMR Air Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Ltd. (GACAEL), has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Boeing Global Services (BGS) contract to convert 737-800 passenger aircraft into a 737-800BCF configuration. GMR Aero Technic is the first Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) partner to be located in India. The partnership will support conversions of both domestic and foreign aircraft. GAT has bagged the contract through a global competitive RFP (request for proposal) bid which Boeing had announced to identify MROs for their B737BCF program. GAT has been selected for the program post a detailed due diligence conducted by Boeing. GAT will be the 4th location after China, UK and Costa Rica, where the freighter conversion work will be performed for the B737 BCF program. Initially, this program will cover 30 plus aircraft BCF conversions, occupying multiple lines successively for appx. five years beginning in year 2023. Speaking on this partnership, Mr Ashok Gopinath, CEO, GMR Aero Technic said, “With the rise in the Indian aviation industry, MRO services in India has been one of the fastest- growing market globally. The partnership with Boeing reaffirms our capability to provide world- class MRO services and further contribute to the “Make in India” initiative. We thank Boeing for the opportunity given and look forward to working together for future initiatives.” “Our cooperation with GMR Aero Technic not only a testimony of the maturation of Indian MROs in the country to support the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, but also supports the anticipated growth of the cargo sector in the region,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. Key features of GAT – GMR Aero …

After announcing plans to open logistics center in India, Boeing Co. is also planning to set up a facility to convert passenger aircraft into freight planes in India to capitalise on growing global demand for cargo, executives from the U.S. aviation firm said in various media reports. The facility will add to Boeing’s $1 billion supply chain sourcing from India and will help support India’s ambitions to become a global cargo hub, reports added. The planned facility comes amid a push by Boeing to expand in India. In February, the company said it plans to invest $24 billion to set up a logistics centre for airplane parts. Flag carrier Air India has also placed a record order for nearly 500 jets, worth more than $100 billion at list prices, with both Boeing and Airbus. Boeing Co said on Friday it would set up a facility in India to convert 737 passenger planes into dedicated freighters to tap into regional and global demand for the service. The investment, which adds to the U.S. manufacturer’s expansion into India on top of a record plane order by flag carrier Air India, comes despite a global economic slowdown that has weakened the global air cargo market.

Menzies Aviation has tied-up with IT major Wipro to “transform” its air cargo management services. The aviation company will use a new product, developed by Wipro, to “improve business efficiencies, employee experience, and customer service through increased automation”, a release stated. Wipro’s cargo handling product was designed using cloud-native technologies, it added, further noting that the product will result in increased transparency and real-time-tracking. Menzies will be rolling out the Wipro product to five air cargo locations — Bucharest in Romania; Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland in New Zealand; and Macau in China — by the end of 2023, with further plans to fully implement it across its global network by the end of 2024.

Maersk Air Cargo has parked several leased cargo jets and dialed back flight activity in response to deteriorating demand in the airfreight market. And a planned route between China and the U.S. is on hold, possibly because adding new capacity doesn’t make economic sense. CMA CGM, another ocean carrier that now has an all-cargo airline, recently resumed service between Europe and the U.S. that had been temporarily suspended late last year, demonstrating that carriers respond differently to different regional conditions and corporate priorities, says reports. Only one of the three 767-300 freighters Maersk Air Cargo purchased directly from Boeing last year and outsourced to Miami-based Amerijet to operate between Asia and the U.S. was deployed in revenue service for a period of several weeks, according to flight tracking sites. Maersk acquired the factory-built planes as part of its strategic shift to directly serve importers with a fully integrated supply chain experience rather than simply providing commoditized port-to-port service. Amerijet launched service twice a week between Seoul, South Korea, and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina at the end of October. The other two aircraft on Amerijet’s air operator certificate were idle at Incheon airport in Seoul, according to data from Flightradar24. One plane arrived from the U.S. on Jan. 4 and has not flown since. The other was inactive for more than two weeks starting Feb. 10, but departed Seoul on March 2 and arrived at GSP on Monday via Anchorage. Maersk officials last fall expressed eagerness about quickly utilizing all the aircraft and expanding their air cargo network in North America, including service between their hub at Chicago-Rockford International Airport and Korea, to create more routing options and flexibility …

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for January 2023 global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand declined as economic headwinds persist. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell 14.9% compared to January 2022 (-16.2% for international operations). Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, ACTK) was up 3.9% compared to January 2022. This was the first year-on-year growth in capacity since October 2022. International cargo capacity increased 1.4% compared to January 2022. The uptick in ACTKs reflects the strong recovery of belly capacity in passenger airline markets offsetting a decline international capacity offered by dedicated freighters. Several factors in the operating environment should be noted: The global new export orders component of the manufacturing PMI, a leading indicator of cargo demand, increased in January for the first time since October 2022. For major economies, new export orders are growing, and in China and the US, PMI levels are close to the critical 50-mark indicating that demand for manufactured goods from the world’s two largest economies is stabilizing. Global goods trade decreased by 3.0% in December, this was the second monthly decline in a row. The Consumer Price Index for G7 countries decreased from 7.4% in November to 6.7% in January. Inflation in producer (input) prices reduced by 2.2 percentage points to 9.6% in December. ”With January cargo demand down 14.9% and capacity up 3.9%, 2023 began under some challenging business conditions. That was accompanied by persistent uncertainties, including war in Ukraine, inflation, and labor shortages. But there is solid ground for some cautious optimism about air cargo. Yields remain higher than pre-pandemic. And China’s much faster than expected shift from its zero COVID policy is stabilizing …

UPS is making a strategic investment between $15- 20 million to expand its network of technology centres to India. These centres will complement UPS’s existing technology teams in the U.S. and Europe responsible for in-house technology development – the solutions that make UPS a world-class logistics provider with the best digital customer experience. UPS is committed to domestic job creation through these centres and aims to hire around 1,000 employees by the end of 2025. The first centre will open in Chennai by mid-2023, with additional locations to follow. UPS is rapidly expanding its presence in India with recent investments including: o In 2022, UPS strengthened its network with the opening of a second dedicated airport gateway in Bengaluru o Combined with its largest facility in India at Delhi airport, UPS has doubled export and import handling capacity o UPS also launched MOVIN Express for India’s domestic logistics market, in partnership with InterGlobe Enterprises o MOVIN combines the strength and synergies of UPS’s global network and it’s 115 years of experience in logistics with InterGlobe’s deep understanding of India’s domestic aviation and hospitality market o In less than a year, MOVIN Express has expanded to 49 cities and 3000 pin codes in India On the occasion of the announcement, Bala Subramanian, UPS EVP & Chief Digital and Technology Officer said: “UPS is committed to India and these centres represent our latest strategic investment in a leading economy that we see growing significantly in the coming years. Through these centres, we’re supporting domestic job creation and advancing skill sets through training and development.”

FedEx has announced plans to open its first Advanced Capability Community (ACC) in Hyderabad, India in 2023. The opening is part of a broader multi-year initiative to strengthen the recruitment and development of the company’s diverse workforce all around the world and build a more efficient and agile organization to enhance how we deliver for our customers. FedEx plans to set up ACCs in different parts of the world in the future. Locations will be selected based on business needs and access to highly skilled talent pools. Each community is planned to be staffed by full-time FedEx team members across many functional areas who will provide shared services to support the technological and digital requirements of the entire FedEx enterprise. The digital innovation these communities will provide will enable the company to provide even greater value in the global supply chain ecosystem. The Indian government’s focus on providing world-class infrastructure to build a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy makes the country an ideal location for the first ACC. The first ACC will be situated in Hyderabad and is anticipated to launch in the second half of 2023. The state of Telangana and its capital, Hyderabad, has been focusing on its engineering and digital enterprise talent pool to support international organizations that want to set up a presence here. “FedEx is creating the world’s most flexible, efficient, and intelligent supply chain for our customers,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. president and chief executive officer. “The opening of our first Advanced Capability Community in India, a critical market for FedEx, will enable us to be faster, more flexible, and secure as we innovate digitally. This move supports our long-term vision to grow our …

Cargojet, the all-cargo Canadian carrier, has decided to complete the sale of two Boeing 777-300 aircraft for $53.5 million by early Q22023. “Due to the recent slowdown in the global economy, the company plans to defer the induction of the B777-300 fleet and maintain its financial strength. The B777-300 disposal has no impact on the current operations as the fleet expansion was to expand international reach,” says the management discussion note issued after the announcement of Q42022 and full-year 2022 results. Cargojet reported a 29 percent increase in revenue at C$980 million ($715 million) while EBITDA was up 14 percent at C$396 million ($289 million). Net earnings increased 14 percent to C$191 million ($139 million). For Q42022, revenue increased 13 percent to C$267 million YoY and net earnings dropped over 97 percent to C$2.6 million. “Over the past several years, Cargojet has evolved its business model that is increasingly based on strategic partnerships rather than transactional relationships with its customers,” says Ajay Virmani, President and CEO, Cargojet. “By aligning our long-term commercial interests, we expect greater endurance of volumes with our strategic customers even if global volumes soften during a recessionary period. “The continued global increase in e-commerce demand has produced strong growth in our domestic and ACMI business segments during the quarter. We continue to monitor various macro risks including a potential recession, which may have an impact on consumer spending. As such, Cargojet continues to carefully manage its strategy to match the capacity required with actual customer demand.”

NYK has entered into an agreement to transfer all shares in B747 freighter operator Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) to All Nippon Airways Holdings (ANA). The shipping group said that it had made the decision due to the ongoing cost of running the cargo airline. “The continuous introduction of new aircraft to expand the operation and maintenance system, and the continuous training of personnel engaged in operation and maintenance required a considerable expenditure,” NYK said. “In the highly volatile business environment of airfreight transportation, NCA has been facing challenges in expanding its business scale at a level that is commensurate with such costs.” For ANA, the deal will “dramatically enhance its international air cargo network” and products and services based in Japan and also with the aim to contribute to the development of global economic activities both in Japan and abroad. “In order for NCA to achieve further growth and increase corporate value from a long-term perspective which includes environmental responsiveness, we believe that it is the best option to transfer shares of NCA to [ANA] which operates the same business, and has been providing NCA with cooperative relation to strengthen its maintenance system,” NYK added. The terms of the deal are still under discussion but both parties hope to finalise the transaction by October 1. NCA currently operates a fleet of eight B747-8 freighter aircraft and owns five B747-400 freighters that are operated by ASL and Atlas Air.