The Warehousing Association of India (WAI) is all set to organize a conclave on ‘Empowering Women in Logistics: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion’ focusing on creating awareness about the importance of gender diversity and inclusion in the logistics industry and to provide insights into the challenges faced by women, and to promote open discussions and brainstorming to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment. The event will be held on December 14th at New Delhi. Post lunch there will be a Workshop on Standardization, Grading, and Rating of Warehouses in India. The objective of this workshop is to share with participants about the importance of standardization, grading, and rating of warehouses in India, and to provide them with practical knowledge, benefits and methodology to assess and improve warehouse facilities. The event will provide a great platform to the industry experts to meet, greet and discuss issues related to the industry.

Worldwide air cargo demand patterns have continued to broadly follow last year’s seasonal trend into the final full week of November including a significant dip in outbound tonnages from North America linked to last week’s Thanksgiving celebrations, according to the latest weekly figures from WorldACD Market Data. “Overall global tonnages have held up better than this time last year, and outbound yields from Asia Pacific have continued to rise, week on week (WoW), whereas they were flat or declining in the equivalent period in 2022.” Preliminary figures for week 47 (November 20-26) show a three percent decrease in tonnages and a two percent increase in global average rates compared with the previous week based on more than 400,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. Tonnages have followed a similar pattern as they did this time last year although the week-over-week decrease in week 47 last year was significantly stronger (down eight percent).

UPS and the Hong Kong Airport Authority have entered into an agreement that aims to improve UPS services and enhances the company’s operations in Asia with a new hub at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and near the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. “The new hub will serve as UPS Hong Kong’s main facility for processing and sorting imports, exports and transshipments to and from Europe, the U.S., and other parts of Asia,” says a release from UPS. The hub is expected to be completed by 2028 and will be built on a land parcel of 20,000 square metre with direct access to aircraft, the release added. “The facility is being designed to handle close to one million tonne of annual capacity, giving UPS and its customers around the world better and more reliable connectivity to Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and the growing Asia Pacific consumer market,” the release added.

The Air Cargo Agents Association of India – an association of Cargo Agents and Freight Forwarders has been instrumental in conducting training and ensuring that the shipments tendered by the Members are safe and secure to be loaded on the aircraft and ensuring safety of the passengers. ACAAI is proud to be associated with DGM India and jointly the 100th DGR Refresher Training Course shall be conducted from Monday in Ahmedabad. With more pharmaceutical being shipped out of India it is imperative to have training imparted to the staff And comply with the regulation.

Atlas Air has taken delivery of the latest Boeing 777 freighter that it will operate on behalf of MSC Air Cargo. The new aircraft will be operated for MSC under a previously announced ACMI deal and is the third of a four-aircraft partnership. The aircraft will be used on existing routes but will also be used to add an additional service from Hong Kong to Dallas Fort Worth. Atlas said that the fourth aircraft is due to be delivered in December. Jannie Davel, senior vice president, Air Cargo, MSC, said: “This latest 777 freighter delivery accounts for a strategic addition to our MSC Air Cargo fleet, enabling us to address the market’s constantly changing demands and reinforcing our commitment to enhancing trade connections for our clients.” MSC has been busy expanding its air cargo network over recent months. In October the carrier added Milan Malpensa and Tokyo Narita to its service operating between Europe, Asia and North America. Then in November, the airline added a connection from Quito (UIO) to Liege twice per week, in addition to Zaragoza to Mexico City on a weekly basis, to its service covering Europe, Asia and Latin America. Meanwhile, Atlas has been continuing to expand its 777 freighter fleet this week, after it announced the order of two of the model from Boeing.

The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu has approved framing of the state’s logistics policy, aligning it with the PM Gati Shakti Framework. The primary objective of the policy is to create an integrated, multi-modal logistics ecosystem, contributing towards the vision of a ‘Developed Arunachal Pradesh 2047’, a CMO statement said. Recognising the significance of the logistics sector on a national scale, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan was introduced in 2021 to establish multimodal connectivity infrastructure for economic zones. In 2022, the National Logistics Policy was launched to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

Shankar Iyer, Director South Asia, Sales & Handling, Lufthansa Cargo AG says, “The carrier is planning to expand fleet to 18 freighters during the winter flight schedule. It currently offers its customers 83 weekly connections with 16 Boeing 777 freighters to intercontinental destinations in this year’s winter flight schedule and markets the belly capacities of more than 6,000 flights operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress. The fleet is expected to grow to 18 freighters during the winter flight schedule. Final decisions on further destinations will be confirmed to ensure we offer a network that best meets our operational requirements and customer demand. Since November, the fourth A321 freighter has been operating in Lufthansa Cargo’s network, making a significant contribution to the cargo carrier’s expansion plans. We are continually evaluating their performance to ensure it’s in line with our operational standards and market requirements. When it comes to network changes for our A321 Freighter, adapting is routine to continue to respond to market needs.

Kuehne+Nagel secured the available cargo space on the world’s first 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) powered transatlantic flight by Virgin Atlantic that successfully landed at New York after its departure from London Heathrow. “Kuehne+Nagel, a leader in sustainable logistics, actively engages in projects that encourage and promote the use of sustainable fuels within the logistics sector. As part of its efforts, Kuehne+Nagel secured the available cargo space on this SAF-powered flight and utilised the corresponding amount of SAF for the transported goods,” says an official release. Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board responsible for Air Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel says: “This is a historic moment in our collective journey towards sustainable aviation and we are very proud to represent the air cargo industry on the world’s first 100 percent SAF transatlantic flight by a commercial airline. It is an honour to support this Virgin Atlantic-led consortium, pushing the boundaries of decarbonisation in aviation.” The SAF used to power the two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is produced by hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) and synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK) at an 88 percent SAF and 12 percent SAK blend ratio, the release added. The Virgin Atlantic led consortium, jointly funded by the U.K. Department for Transport, includes Rolls Royce, Boeing, University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and Rocky Mountain Institute.

Express distribution and supply chain management company Gati launched a tech-enabled surface transhipment centre and distribution warehouse (STCDW) at Mayasandra, Bengaluru. The launch is a part of the company's plan to build 21 modern, automated and environment-friendly STCDWs. Located at 5.5 kilometre from Bengaluru-Hosur highway at the border of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the STCDW is spread over 3.5 lakh square feet, the company said in a filing to BSE. The STCDW is equipped to deliver daily throughput of 1,600 tonne and monthly throughput of 40,000 tonne. It caters to multiple industries including automotive, apparel, heavy engineering, retail. "The tech-enabled STCDW will pave the way for greater customer centricity at Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India and a key consumption centre of the country," Gati Express and Supply Chain Pvt Ltd (Gati) MD and CEO Pirojshaw Sarkari said.

Atlas Air has ordered two new Boeing 777 freighters that are due to be delivered in the second half of 2024. The company said ongoing strong customer demand for dedicated large widebody airfreight capacity, particularly for cross border e-commerce shipping, prompted it to make the order. The two 777Fs were ordered earlier this quarter. The company most recently ordered four 777Fs in 2021, which are placed on a long-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) agreement with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, for use by MSC Air Cargo. Three of these aircraft have been delivered, with the fourth 777F expected to be delivered in December this year. “We are excited to add these aircraft to our leading world-class fleet. These come at a time when retirements of older widebody freighters will significantly increase and when the introduction of new widebody freighter capacity will be limited,” said Michael Steen, chief executive, Atlas Air Worldwide. “We have a deep pipeline of prospective customers interested in these 777 Freighters, and we’re confident in our ability to place them under long-term agreements.”