Category Archives: International

Cathay Pacific has successfully delivered the first batch of Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccines to Hong Kong, drawing on its long-established expertise in pharmaceutical shipments under cold chain protocols to meet the handling demands of the Fosun Pharma/BioNTech product. The first delivery of the first batch of one million Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccines to be supplied to Hong Kong arrived from Frankfurt were unloaded as priority from a freighter flight to the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal. Tom Owen, Director – Cargo, Cathay Pacific, said, “Different vaccines have differing requirements. The Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccine must be transported in a deep frozen state, which requires more complex transportation and storage solutions. Our ‘vaccine solution’ has proven itself to be ideally suited to the fast and effective distribution of this and other vaccines across the globe, using our freighter and passenger fleet, and our extensive global network.” The Cathay Pacific shipments to date include the milestone import of the first vaccines for use in the airline’s home city of Hong Kong on 19 February. The one million doses of Sinovac vaccine were loaded inside six temperature-controlled Envirotainer RAP e2 containers, to maintain the vaccine temperature range of 2°C to 8°C, and carried in the belly hold of an Airbus A330 operating the scheduled passenger flight, CX391. Owen adds, “This was also the first shipment to use our new Ultra Track service, a key part of our vaccine solution.” On the same flight, there were 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine destined for Mexico. The single Envirotainer RAP e2 container was towed to the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal in a thermal dolly and transferred to a cool room set at 15°-25°C, where it was recharged ahead of …

LATAM Airlines has announced that the airline will expand its freighter capacity by as much as 80% through the addition of up to eight B767-300ER conversions. The conversion plan will be implemented over two phases; the first phase will see four aircraft converted between 2021 and 2022 and the second phase consists of four additional conversion options for delivery between 2022 and 2023. Upon completion of phase one, LATAM’s cargo fleet will reach a total of 15 Boeing 767-300ER freighters. If all options are executed, LATAM will operate a total of 19 767-300ER freighters. Roberto Alvo, Chief Executive, LATAM Airlines Group, said, “Despite the deep crisis the industry is enduring due to the pandemic, we maintain our commitment to support the region’s exporters and importers by providing them with more and better options to carry their cargo to their destinations. As a result, growth plans have been accelerated with conversion of up to eight Boeing 767-300ERs in the next 30 months.” Andrés Bianchi, LATAM Cargo’s chief executive adds, “Combining the passenger belly operations of LATAM Airlines Group with 15 to 19 Boeing 767-300ER freighters efficiently strengthens our customer value proposition. These conversions will enable the cargo affiliates to grow in key segments such the Colombian flower market or imports to Brazil. It also allows our affiliates to expand their network in domestic markets where e-commerce is rapidly generating an increase in air cargo traffic.” The move comes as airlines explore options on what to do with unused passenger aircraft and expectations of a lengthy recovery in intercontinental passenger flights.

Kuehne+Nagel successfully helped Sinovac Biotech, a leading biopharmaceutical company in China (Nasdaq: SVA), to fulfil its first Covid-19 vaccine shipment from Beijing, China to the Dominican Republic. The pilot shipment containing 768,000 vials of Covid-19 vaccine was stored in active temperature-controlled containers and arrived safely in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, on February 23, benefitting its citizens just before its Independence Day. The shipment was closely monitored and compliant with the most stringent standards to guarantee product integrity. Helen Yang, General Manager of Sinovac Biotech (Hong Kong) Limited said, “The Dominican Republic is 14,000 kilometers away from our factory in Beijing. During the ongoing pandemic, there are very few carriers connecting to this remote destination. However, Kuehne+Nagel responded to us with a feasible solution in just a short span of twelve hours. Even during the Chinese New Year holidays, the Kuehne+Nagel team was diligently preparing this shipment. We look forward to a collaborative partnership with Kuehne+Nagel.” Siewloong Wong, President of Kuehne+Nagel Asia Pacific said: “We couldn’t be prouder to having started shipments of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. At Kuehne+Nagel, we leverage our global pharma & healthcare network and expertise to bring the Sinovac vaccine to the market. We truly appreciate the trust that Sinovac has bestowed upon us.” Prior to this shipment, Kuehne+Nagel successfully fulfilled multiple crucial assignments for Sinovac, including an air charter from Beijing to Turkey for a door-to-door delivery of nearly a quarter-million flu vaccines. Kuehne+Nagel also helped with the shipment of Hepatitis A vaccine to Guatemala in South America as well as making nucleic acid detection kits available to people in Indonesia. With offices all over the world, 240 GxP-certified operations and more than …

In order to accommodate customer demands in a global airfreight market affected by lack of capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DSV introduces three new intercontinental routes connecting five continents. COVID-19 continues to impact global trade and movement of goods for companies all over the world. Consequently, airports around the world are facing significant cargo congestion, and customers are facing a frustrating lack of capacity. The company continuously seeks to find alternative supply chain solutions for its customers and is once again expanding its air charter network. With the addition of three new intercontinental air charter routes covering five continents, DSV adds a significant amount of air freight capacity to help customers around the world. “We see cargo congestion at both sea ports and airports around the world, hence it’s crucial that we seek to find alternative solutions. I am very pleased that we keep expanding our international air charter services. The aim is to offer more flexibility and security of cargo freight which is crucial and sought after by our many customers,” says, Mads Ravn, head of global air freight procurement at DSV. The DSV Air Charter Network is managed as a fully in-house DSV network and includes road freight to and from the airport, document handling, and freight handling and planning for loading air freight units (ULD’s). The in-house control of the complete process makes the air charter network highly flexible and efficient for customers – all characteristics that are crucial for customers in times of uncertainty. The three new air charter routes Luxembourg – Sao Paulo, Brazil Started Febuary 21st 2021. A weekly direct route from Luxembourg to Guarulhos (São Paulo) with 100 tons of capacity between …

With a vision to form a significant entity that will be a world leader in international transport and logistics, Visa Global Logistics (Visa) have entered into a successful merger with a New Zealand based Mondiale Freight Services (Mondiale). The merged company will have a combined annual revenue of AUD1.2 billion, with operations across Australia, New Zealand, North Asia, South East Asia, Indian Sub-Continent and Europe. Both companies have made significant investments in wharf transport in Australia and New Zealand and offers a total end to end supply chain solution in these two countries. The founding executive shareholders of Visa and Mondiale will remain with the company as shareholders in their executive positions. Mondiale Visa currently handle 500,000 containers per annum and employ more than 1500 people globally, covering all aspects of freight forwarding, customs, wharf transport and warehousing. John Sargent, Director and Shareholder, Mondiale, said, “The Mondiale and Visa Global teams have very close synergies and are an excellent fit in the merged company.” Vittorio Tarchi, Founding Director and Shareholder, Visa Global Logistics, said “Each company has grown globally over the last 30 plus years, with complementary global networks and with a key focus on customer service.” Ray Meade, who has operated in the global freight markets in both Australia and New Zealand for 30 years and managed Mondiale’s Australian operations for over eight years, will become the Chief Executive Officer of the merged group. He said, “The strength of the combined entity, supported by its extremely valued & dedicated staff will deliver significant advantage to both its existing and future customer base”. The merger is subject to customary conditions precedent with completion anticipated during March 2020.

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) has launched the next generation upgraded Artificial Intelligence based truck slot management through its flagship Airport Cargo Community System (ACS) to avert truck congestion in Airports across North America and other large airports of the world. Truck congestion is a big problem behind the scenes at some major U.S. airports. The coronavirus forced big industry changes that have exacerbated existing inefficiencies due to poor coordination and infrastructure. Long Truck wait-times are a growing problem for Airports and the allied supply chain stakeholders like Transporters, Customs Brokers, and Freight Forwarders. Truckers are waiting in line for hours to pick up and drop off cargo at Airports in North America. Airfreight customers already pay a premium for expedited service, so delays can be particularly costly. International passenger terminals may have little traffic, but at some airports there is so much cargo that frustrated businesses have to wait days for medical supplies and other imports arriving on planes. The unusually heavy cargo volume, driven by a surge in medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic and e-commerce orders from homebound consumers, has exposed long-standing, systemic inefficiencies at major hubs. Manual intervention and document processing further affect the efficiency and the time consumed in cargo handling. Data entry at various stages consumes around 22 hours per shipment. The absence of proactive information to the cargo terminal operators leads to inefficient personnel and asset planning at the gates, peaks and idle times, and long waiting times for freight handlers or trucking companies. Kale Logistics Solutions’ new Artificial Intelligence based Truck Slot Management for Air Cargo helps ground handlers, freight forwarders, and trucking companies to better coordinate their landside freight management so …

In a major expansion of its international aerospace business, CEVA Logistics has been awarded a contract to manage production supply for Airbus at the aircraft manufacturer’s assembly site in Hamburg, Germany. CEVA will operate the production supply logistics on behalf of Airbus at multiple locations with a total area of 58,631 m². Among the services that will be provided are inbound, put away/storage, pick and prepare, marketplace, internal transport, delivery to point of use, returns, empties handling and external dispatch. Within the scope of the new contract, CEVA will initiate and implement logistics improvements and projects, using LEAN principles to further increase efficiency within the facilities. CEVA’s successful management of a spare parts and components contract for Airbus awarded in 2020 was key to the awarding of this new contract. “CEVA’s capabilities and commitment in aerospace logistics have once again been recognized by Airbus with the awarding of this new contract. Our two companies have successfully worked together previously on other projects, most recently in Hamburg on the spare parts and components contract. The depth of CEVA’s specialist knowledge in this industry, combined with its innovative operational and delivery solutions, have been key to securing this new business,” says, Mathieu Friedberg, CEO, CEVA.

DHL Global Forwarding has announced to deliver additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines on a weekly basis into Australian and New Zealand to support the countries’ inoculation programme. DHL Global Forwarding arranged for the collection and airfreight of the vaccines from the manufacturing site in Europe and upon the vaccines’ arrival in Australia and the Auckland Airport, handled the customs clearance and final delivery to the designated locations. “Logistics plays a critical role in getting vaccines to where it is urgently needed. Globally, across many markets, our cold-chain network and pharmaceutical logistics expertise have meticulously planned every last detail to manage an extremely complex operation seamlessly,” said Charles Kaufmann, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding North Asia & South Pacific. “The shipments were delivered on time, and most importantly, in the right condition according to strict requirements. That’s the result of many months of rigorous planning to ensure the vaccines are delivered within the fastest possible time while ensuring the quality, safety and security of these critical shipments,” said George Lawson, managing director, DHL Global Forwarding Australia. “The deliveries were smooth as can be expected, thanks to the significant effort and rigorous planning by the teams involved. Working in close coordination with our partners on the ground and New Zealand’s regulatory authorities, all measures have been taken to ensure not just the speed of deliveries, but also ensuring the quality and safety of these critical shipments,” said Zane Morton, managing director, DHL Global Forwarding New Zealand. Across DHL’s dedicated global network, more than 9,000 specialists work to connect pharmaceutical and research organisations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers across the value chain. With this contract, the logistics expert for …

Kuehne+Nagel enters into a binding agreement to acquire Apex International Corporation (Apex), one of Asia’s leading freight forwarders, especially in the transpacific and intra-Asia. The company was founded in China in 2001 and has expanded throughout Asia and beyond over the years of its growth history. With approximately 1,600 employees, Apex generates yearly turnover in excess of CHF 2.1 billion. In 2020, the company handled total air freight volume of approximately 750,000 tons and sea freight volume of 190,000 TEU. Dr. Detlef Trefzger, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says, “The combination of Apex and Kuehne+Nagel provides us with an opportunity to offer our customers a compelling proposition in the competitive Asian logistics industry, especially in e-commerce fulfilment, hi-tech and e-mobility. We are looking forward to welcoming the Apex colleagues to the Kuehne+Nagel family.” Tony Song, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Apex, adds, “With Kuehne+Nagel, we have found a strategic shareholder and logistics group with more than 130 years of heritage. We are sure that with this transaction, we will be able to add value for our customers’ supply chains and expand our global logistics network. We will complement Kuehne+Nagel’s existing global Air Logistics team while offering our management and key talents unique career opportunities.” The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including merger clearance by the competent competition authorities. The purchase price will be financed by available liquid sources and, if needed, by available credit lines. Following closing of the transaction, a minor stake of Apex shares is to remain with the experienced and entrepreneurial management of Apex. Furthermore, the company will then continue to operate separately within the Kuehne+Nagel Group. At this …

Responding to increased demand for airfreight transport options out of Europe, Dachser USA, a subsidiary of the global logistics provider Dachser, is expanding its dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago air cargo service with the addition of a second flight, scheduled for the weekday to compliment the current weekend schedule. Dachser USA has been successfully operating a dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago-Frankfurt air cargo service since end of July last year when demand for air transport began to increase due to pandemic-related supply chain disruption. The new route will be operated by American Airlines with B777/PAX freighters and will run every Wednesday from Frankfurt to Chicago. This additional dedicated air freight option will allow for more transit choices as Dachser’s extensive network continues to expand, innovate and deliver for its customers. Andy Frommenwiler, Vice President – Airfreight, Dachser USA, commented, “Many of our customers are shifting some of their shipments to airfreight transport because of the uncertainty surrounding ocean transport right now. As volumes increase, our recently launched dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago airfreight service continues to attract clients and is now operating at full capacity. In order to serve the growing demand for reliable and predictable service levels, we launched our new weekday service, which is already drawing new customers.”