Category Archives: International

High ocean freight rates caused by service disruption is helping push forwarders and shippers to use airfreight. In its latest market summary, airline association IATA said that air cargo is benefitting from “exceptionally congested” container shipping supply chains. It pointed out that the cost-competitiveness of air cargo relative to that of container shipping has improved over recent months, with the average cost of air cargo in May six times more expensive than seafreight, compared with 12 times more expensive pre-crisis. “Improved competitiveness compared to sea shipping should continue to make air cargo a bright spot for airlines while passenger demand struggles with continued border closures and travel restrictions,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.

In its Q2 2021 financial results, Delta Air Lines’ reported cargo revenues exceeding pre-Covid (2019) levels. From March to June this year, the carrier’s cargo division, Delta Cargo, posted revenues of $251m — a 35% increase on cargo revenues in 2019. Rob Walpole, vice president of Delta Cargo, commented: “Air cargo volumes overall are back to pre-Covid levels, but the capacity available to move those volumes is less than what it was pre-Covid. So there’s an imbalance between supply demand. I think that will continue through next year — certainly through the first half of next year until international passenger services [and bellyhold capacity] get closer to pre-Covid levels.” With limited international passenger services operating currently, Walpole said Delta Cargo has ramped up its domestic network and added that operating at major US hubs like New York JFK has “improved our connectivity between Asia and Europe, and Latin America, and other Europe in Asia”.

Qatar Airways Cargo announces the further roll out of third-party eBooking platform WebCargo by Freightos across the United States of America*, effective 19 July 2021. Forwarders in the USA will be able to conduct eBookings with access to live rates and available capacity on the WebCargo platform. This will further improve their booking experience with the airline, resulting in higher efficiencies and instant responses for confirmation. The cargo carrier has an extensive network in the United States spanning 12 cities with 145 weekly flights, thus offering customers more than 4,700 tonnes of cargo capacity every week. Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux said: “Following our successful launch across Europe, we are glad to introduce WebCargo throughout the United States of America, steadily extending digitalisation across our organisation. We are actively pushing for digitalisation in air freight as it brings in efficiencies and provides multiple benefits for our customers such as 24/7 visibility of price and capacity as well as real time confirmation to name a few.”

Aegis Logistics and Royal Vopak of the Netherlands on Tuesday announced that of forming a joint venture (JV) – Aegis Vopak Terminals (AVTL), to grow together in the LPG, chemicals storage, and handling business. Under this new partnership, we will see the two companies operate a network of terminals that are currently located in five strategic ports along the east and west coast of India. With a total capacity of around 9,60,000 cubic meters, the partnership will become one of the largest independent tank storage companies for LPG and chemicals in India and provide further growth, which targets mainly LPG and also chemicals and industrial terminal opportunities. This investment would help Royal Vopak towards its strategy to allocate capital to grow in gas markets. The transaction is expected to close in early 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Lessor BBAM has signed up for more B737-800 freighter conversions from Boeing as it looks to capitalise on the strong express and e-commerce markets. The company announced the order of a further 12 B737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters, bringing its total orders and commitments for the aircraft to 31. The deal also represents the first time that Costa Rica-based MRO COOPESA will convert the model on behalf of Boeing. “The Boeing Converted Freighter programme is extending the life and enhancing the value of the 737-800s in our fleet,” said Steve Zissis, president and chief executive of BBAM. “We are growing our Boeing order book to meet the strong demand we see worldwide for narrowbody freighters, and we are proud to be the launch customer for the conversion lines at COOPESA.”

Supply chain firm Geodis is set to expand its presence in the pharma market with the acquisition of temperature-controlled logistics business Gandon Transports. Geodis said Gandon Transports, which specialises in the transport of pharma products at controlled temperatures of 2°C to 8°C and 15°C to 25°C, has an extensive network of warehouse and trucking services that will strengthen its capacity to distribute to pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers throughout France. Marie-Christine Lombard, chief executive at Geodis, committed: “This acquisition will consolidate Geodis’ status as a key player in the healthcare market. From inventory planning to temperature-controlled storage and transport to the final recipient, we want to offer our customers a complete and reliable solution throughout the supply chain.”

Air cargo demand returned to growth in June following a drop in May as a result of public holidays. The latest statistics from CLIVE Data Services show that air cargo demand in June increased by 1% compared with the same month in 2019 (used for comparison due to impact of Covid) after declining by 4% in May. Niall van de Wouw, managing director of CLIVE Data Services, said: “June’s performance data was relatively strong and seems to confirm that May’s decline was a one-off, as we anticipated, impacted by the public holidays during that month. The global air cargo market now seems to be back on track, reflecting what The Economist has described as the ‘long goodbye’ to Covid’s impact on our everyday lives”. “In June, we once again saw no signs of recovery in capacity. It is abundantly clear that airlines are micromanaging their flights because the pressure is everywhere and, in the case of cargo-only services by passenger airlines, the capacity out there is expensive to operate.

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group, and CargoAi, the SaaS application which provides air cargo digital solutions, have partnered to elevate the carrier’s API accessibility for freight forwarders as part of its digitalisation strategy. During the past few years, Etihad Cargo has accelerated its development of technology advancements which have provided simplified customer experiences through a number of partnerships. This has culminated in the launch of its brand new digital platform, etihadcargo.com. Their latest collaboration with CargoAi will further enhance this through the provision of brand-new API accessibility for freight forwarders the world over. “Digitalisation has been at the core of Etihad Cargo’s strategy over the last three to five years, and continues to be a focus in driving digitalisation and streamlining processes across the air freight world. Our partnership with CargoAi supports this vision, and provides an additional tool which delivers a rapid and fluid digital booking services platform,” explained Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group.

Delmos Aviation, a part of Sentro Group continues to ramp up its air cargo network in CIS Nations with the launch of its first smaller capacity aircraft cargo charter flight between India & Uzbekistan. The first flight took place on July 7th on DEL– TAS route on A 320 PTC smaller capacity aircraft to deliver essential medical equipment and pharmaceuticals products from India to the region. The cargo charter flights can also carry cross-border e-commerce products such as apparel and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Delmos Aviation focuses on improving regular cargo operations between India & Uzbekistan and other CIS Nations, as India is the primary exporter of essential pharma supplies to the region. We are so excited to launch regular cargo charter services and are happy to provide an enhanced and streamlined cargo charter experience across the entire network. The charter flight on 7th July is a pilot flight project. It has been a milestone for all.” said Dr Naveen Rao, Group Chairman.

Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) is expanding its perishables network with the acquisition of Norwegian freight forwarder Salmosped, which specialises in the transportation of seafood. Norway is one of the largest fish and aquaculture producers in the world and its exports have remained strong throughout the pandemic. K+N said that over the years, it has developed a global perishables logistics network comprised of more than 70 stations to provide its end-consumers with an optimal product shelf life and maximum freshness. Dennis Verkooy, senior vice president of global perishables, and head of carrier management air logistics, at K+N, commented: “Perishables logistics is a strong growth driver for Kuehne+Nagel. “While we have been present in the seafood business in Norway for years, today’s acquisition strengthens our footprint in air freight exports from this important seafood producing country. “We are looking forward to enlarging our Norwegian team with Salmosped’s specialists.”