To meet the fast-growing demand for perishables in Brisbane, DHL Global Forwarding has opened a new 4,880 sq. mt. facility at Brisbane Airport, which houses the largest international cold chain services. The new facility will support the growth of general cargo in Queensland, Australia and is set to be ready by early 2023. George Lawson, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding Australia said in an official statement, “We are also planning to invest AUD 17 million (EUR 11 million) over a period of 10 years. The expansion of our facilities at Brisbane airport reflect the growth in exports, especially perishable exports. Brisbane’s economy is forecast to surge by 2031 and with this new facility, we are ready to support our customers’ growth.”

Emirates SkyCargo’s brand new cargo freighter, Boeing 777F departed Boeing’s facilities at Everett in Washington recently. According to the reports, this is Emirates SkyCargo’s 11th B777F aircraft with registration number A6-EFT, while also having MSN 67462 and line number 1713. Prior to its delivery flight, the aircraft had conducted five test flights, which took seven hours. The freighter first headed over the Pacific Ocean on a nearly 13-hour flight to Hong Kong on May 28 and spent about two hours on the ground before departing for Dubai World Central (DWC).

India is likely to get its first semi-high speed freight train under Gati Shakti by December. The trains, with 16 coaches each, will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. These freight trains will run at a speed of 160 kmph akin to the Vande Bharat Trains, says reports. A K Agarwal, ICF GM said, “The design work of these trains has already started. Two of these trains will be manufactured by December. More number will be manufactured depending on the market’s response. We are planning to target e-commerce and courier parcel services by introducing these trains.” Every train will have refrigerated wagons in the rear and in the front to carry perishables products. Power connection for these trains will be provided by the coach. The rest of the coaches will have rollers for moving the container.

According to a recent survey titled xChange Industry Pulse Survey released by the Container xChange, a marketplace and technology infrastructure provider for container logistics companies, 51 per cent of freight forwarders, traders and shippers expect chaos in the coming peak season in summer as compared to that in 2021. The survey found that this year’s summer peak season cargo surge will be worse, exceeding the disruptions caused in the peak season of 2021. Twenty-six per cent predicted this year’s peak season would be less chaotic than in 2021, while 22 per cent expected the level of chaos to be the same, stated the survey.

To reserve a stake in Italian airline, ITA Airways, Lufthansa Cargo has submitted a joint bid with Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC). “The MSC Group aims to create a partnership with the Italian Government and Lufthansa as the project’s industrial partner. Lufthansa has already expressed its interest in taking part in the initiative. MSC Group’s interest derives from the possibility of activating positive synergies for both companies in the cargo and passenger sectors where the MSC Group is a global leader,” said a statement. According to media reports, Lufthansa is looking forward to take a 20 per cent stake in ITA while MSC will hold a 60 per cent stake under the joint offer and the remaining 20 per cent would be held by the Italian state. Though nothing has officially been confirmed as of now.

Ethiopian Airlines announced expansion plans of its freighter fleet by ordering five Boeing 777 Freighters. Mesfin Tasew, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines Group said in an official statement, “The addition of these five 777 Freighters into our cargo fleet will enable us to meet the growing demand in our cargo operation. While cementing our partnership with Boeing with new orders, the growth of our freighter fleet takes the capacity and efficiency of our shipment service to the next level. We strive to serve our customers with the latest technology aircraft the industry could offer. Our cargo terminal is Africa’s largest, coupled with fuel-efficient freighters and well-trained cargo handling professionals will enable customers get the best quality shipment service. The customers can rely on Ethiopian Airlines for wide-ranging cargo services across five continents.”

Allcargo Logistics Ltd reported consolidated revenue of ₹ 20,072 crore for the year and EBITDA stood at ₹ 1,516 crore. The company profit before tax stood at ₹ 1,186 crores, including ₹ 81 crore share of profit from associates and JVs. The Board of Directors approved the audited financial results for the financial year ended March 31, 2022 at a meeting held recently. Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Allcargo Logistics, ECU Worldwide and Gati Limited in a statement, said, “The company’s performance is an outcome of sustained strategic initiatives over last few years. Our sharp focus on technology has benefitted us in many ways, be it using data science and automation to drive optimization, or digital platforms to serve customers better.”

In line with the objective of Port-led industrialization, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) organized ‘JNPA SEZ Investor Conclave 2022’ in association with the CII in Mumbai on 27 May 2022, to propose ample opportunities to investors to invest in the India’s growth story and be a part of country’s growing port-led economy. This multi-product SEZ project is being developed on 277.38 hectares of freehold land by JN port, incorporating the Land Use Plan of the Port. This industrial hub is India’s first port-based multi-product operational SEZ. Sanjay Sethi, chairman, JNPA, said, “JNPA is set to strengthen its growth aspects in the port-led business with this SEZ project that offers varied facilities from single-window clearances to multi-modal connectivity and state of the art infrastructure, making it an ideal choice to establish businesses and boost export-oriented industries in India.”

With an aim to have a pan-India presence by the end of FY 2025c, cargo-partner announced plans to expand its network to 10 more Indian cities. Rajiv Singh, MD, India, cargo-partner said, “The firm will be creating many job opportunities in these cities during FY2022-25. They will be serving B2B enterprises operating in the automotive and spare parts, fashion, lifestyle, foodstuffs, perishables, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare. The increase in demand from tier 2 and 3 cities has also led to this expansion in services by cargo-partner.” Singh shared plans to expand in the warehousing and pharmaceutical sectors. “We are aiming to grow from Rs 530 crore to Rs 1,500 crore in the next three years. We are ready to invest as much capital as will be required to bring these people with us,” Singh said.

To help Spanish companies grow their supply chains amidst the e-commerce boom, Correos Cargo, Spanish postal group, has launched a twice-weekly Madrid-Hong Kong air cargo service. The Milana Bonita Airbus A330 has a cargo capacity of 50 tonnes and offers air transport for all types of materials and sectors. It will operate on Mondays and Fridays. “With this new service, the company wants to help and favour the internationalisation of Spanish companies as well as export their products in the Eastern markets,” said Correos Cargo in an official statement. The Spanish postal group is also planning to expand its network by adding three new aircraft by the end of 2024.