Category Archives: International

American Airlines Cargo further enhances its transatlantic services for cargo customers this winter with direct service from London Heathrow (LHR) to nine key U.S. cities starting in November onward. The airline will operate doubly daily service from LHR to John. F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), and daily service to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Miami International Airport (MIA), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) all starting in November. Additionally, German customers will see a special limited-time service in November between Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and CLT to connect Germany to the important production and consumption centers in the U.S. South East. “These winter services are tremendous news for American Airlines customers in the UK and Europe where capacity to the U.S. and beyond has proved to be very tight over the last eighteen months,” says Tim Isik, Sales Director – EMEA & APAC for American Airlines Cargo.

Blue Dart Express Limited, declared its financial results for the quarter ended September 30 2021, at its Board Meeting held in Mumbai. The company posted ₹895 million profit after tax (previous year corresponding quarter was at ₹414 million) for the quarter ended September 30, 2021; Revenue from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 stood at ₹11,236 million. Revenue from operations for the half year ended September 30, 2021 stood at ₹19,884 million and profit after tax at ₹1,189 million. Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart says, “The company witnessed strong pull back in demand during the quarter as wave II of pandemic started slowing down. All economic indicators like GDP growth, Index for Industrial Production, GST collections etc. reflected strong recovery. Growth during the quarter is testimony to heightened business activities of key industrial verticals.”

Singapore’s new mega-port is just months away from full operations, but it has opened its storage area early to help alleviate the supply chain bottlenecks plaguing container shipping. Congestion has caused ships to arrive late, resulting in logjams of containers in major ports around the globe. Ship arrivals at Singapore are now 7.5 days late, on average, after schedule reliability fell to an all-time low of 33.6% in August, although this has since improved to 40%. Senior minister of state for transport Chee Hong Tat said that following the Ever Given grounding, a ship which skipped a port call in the Persian Gulf came to Singapore, where it unloaded 2,700 containers originally bound for the Gulf. The containers were stored before being reloaded onto ships sailing to the intended destination. Chee said, “In doing so, [port operator] PSA enabled the shipping line to skip a port and catch up on its schedule, after a two-week diversion around the Cape of Good Hope.”

The Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF) – education wing of Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) has decided to launch its 2nd batch of IIFF-FIATA Online Diploma Course in Logistics/ Shipping and Freight Forwarding, tentatively from November 1, 2021. The 1st batch of the online diploma course received tremendous responses from the industry professionals as well as fresh aspirants. The IIFF-FIATA Diploma Course has been validated by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA), which is recognized across the world. Commenting on the crucial role played by IIFF in skill development for the logistics industry practitioners. Shankar Shinde, Chairman FFFAI and IIFF stated that the Logistics industry is leading towards more professional mode and it is now perceived as choice of an industry to work for, rather than ‘entry by accident’ or ‘inherited business’. With huge opportunity for Global exposure and experience, Logistics is the best industry which provides such a large scope of personnel and business development. “Accordingly, we have to enhance our Logistics courses to meet the expectations of the next generation,” the FFFAI Chairman emphasised.

Air freight rates were 86 percent higher in August 2021 compared to the 2019 baseline and 20 percent more than the 2020 level. Rates will remain high on huge demand growth against the limited capacity increase, according to the DHL report on the Airfreight state of the industry. Volume growth was strong at +21 percent year-on-year in August 2021. The airfreight market is set to see strong demand due to the upcoming ecommerce events like Black Friday and Singles Day. Another key reason for the high demand is the conversion of ocean freight to air due to port congestion in the U.S. Rates continued to remain high in August as manufacturers were replenishing stocks using air freight, the report said.

DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo became news when a cargo flight flew on rotation between Europe and Asia, whose fuel requirements are completely covered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). To continue their contribution towards a greener future, DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo extend their weekly CO2-free freighter flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai. The joint mission will be continued throughout the entire winter flight schedule until March 2022. Now Nokia has signed up for the initiative. Every week, the global telecommunication network provider will avoid greenhouse gas emissions by using the world’s only freighter flight 100 percent covered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), produced from renewable waste, such as used cooking oils. The fuel requirement for the flight rotation from Frankfurt (FRA) to Shanghai (PVG) and back is covered entirely by SAF. This saves around 174 tons of conventional kerosene every week. During the summer flight schedule 2021, the initiative successfully achieved a net reduction of 20,250 tons of greenhouse gases (CO2e). In the upcoming winter flight schedule, from the end of October 2021 to the end of March 2022, another 14,175 tons are expected.

Dachser, DB Schenker, duisport and Rhenus established the Open Logistics Foundation in Berlin. The purpose of the non-profit foundation is to build a European open-source community aiming to promote digitalization in logistics and supply chain management based on open source and standardize logistics processes through de facto standards. Not only is a technology initiative like this unique in logistics to date, the founding members are also taking on a pioneering role as to the future topic of open source. “We want to drive the digitalization of logistics forward together. That is why open source is an important success factor for the entire logistics industry and, at the same time, a driver for harmonized processes in digital supply chains. We consider the Open Logistics Foundation to be the first step towards a platform economy based on European legal standards and values. It is both a beginning and an appeal to the logistics sector to think of technology and processes together and actively participate in the open-source community,” the founding members declared in a joint statement. Now it is about anchoring open source in the logistics sector and implementing the internal structures to work with the corresponding hardware and software. The foundation addresses all logistics-related companies and their IT developers. Through Open Logistics e.v., the funding association, which was also founded in Berlin, it is open to new members from all areas of logistics, ranging from industry, retail and services to freight forwarders and political organizations. Numerous companies already announced their participation in the funding association, including AEB, BLG Logistics Group, GS1 Germany, Lobster Logistics Cloud and the Bochum-based Setlog Holding, but also associations such as the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der …

FedEx Express in its ‘Future is Now’ study’ offers insights into India’s readiness to embrace the future. India is at the cusp of change, with the pandemic accelerating the country’s digital transformation. From healthcare to education, banking to manufacturing, technology is transforming every sector, giving rise to a future full of possibilities. According to the study, which surveyed more than 4,000 respondents in 18 cities, 79% stated that India was prioritizing technology like Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Blockchain to deliver a future-ready world. Approximately 83% believed technology they’d seen in science fiction movies is either already a part of their daily lives, or likely to be in the next few years. Mohamad Sayegh, Vice President, India Operations for FedEx Express, said, “At FedEx we have a legacy of innovation spanning several decades, and we constantly innovate to create solutions for the world in responsible and resourceful ways. With the shift towards digital transformation accelerating, innovations and cutting-edge technologies with a focus on sustainability are poised to drive the future of business. Further progress in Blockchain, IoT, Automation, and Robotics is not only going to lead the way for the logistics industry, but all industries in the future.” The ‘Future is Now’ study focused on three main views: being dynamic, how India is open to experimentation and innovation, and to what degree the country is sustainability conscious. The findings indicated that future success will likely rely on businesses structuring their approach around these three outlooks.

GEODIS has expanded its road network in Southeast Asia to Vietnam; another step towards its ambition to develop a scheduled road service connecting Singapore to China. GEODIS’ own fleet of vehicles and expanded network of partners enables full and partial loads to be carried by road along the Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand axis, and now Vietnam. The addition of the service to Vietnam will serve businesses driving the manufacturing boom in that country over recent years, helping the region become a vital supply chain node for many high-tech, retail, and FMCG businesses. Launched in November 2019, the Road Transport service of GEODIS in Southeast Asia was created to meet the needs of companies looking for a day-definite road transportation solution for their cargo, in the range of 30 to 1000 kilos per shipment. The expanded road network for Full Truck Load (FTL) and Less than Truck Load (LTL) service provide freight management from first to last mile and offers additional options for existing GEODIS customers, in addition to air and ocean transport modes. The door-to-door road option has the advantage of loading space flexibility, with benefits of lower rates than air freight, shorter transit times than ocean freight, and on-the-ground expertise for customs clearance.

Cargolux introduced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program in the airline’s services and takes Cargolux’s sustainability engagement one step further, cementing the company’s commitment to decarbonizing its operations. The airline aims to being carbon neutral by 2050 and has acted to be fully compliant with upcoming proposed European regulations and offsetting schemes. This new milestone is an additional step in the company’s endeavor to reduce CO2 emissions and lays the foundation for a customer sustainability program, that will offer more sustainable options for their transportation requirements. “Our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility is intrinsic to our business model and the introduction of SAF in our operation is a significant step forward for Cargolux. We are pleased to be part of an industry-wide initiative to make our business, our industry and our world more sustainable”, says Richard Forson, President and CEO, Cargolux.