Category Archives: International

CEVA Logistics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abu Dhabi Ports to work with the Hope Consortium. The Consortium is the umbrella organization of a UAE-based public-private partnership set up to address the logistical challenge of the worldwide distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Spearheaded by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, the Hope Consortium comprises some of the Emirate’s leading supply chain solution players and consists of Etihad Cargo, Abu Dhabi Ports, Rafed (the healthcare purchasing arm of ADQ – the Abu Dhabi Developmental holding company) and temperature-controlled ULD firm, Skycell alongside a group of specially selected international freight forwarders including CEVA Logistics. With the ability to work with small, medium and large sized multinational companies, CEVA Logistics offers a broad range of Contract Logistics and Freight Management services to support both the shipment and distribution of vaccines. Says Guillaume Col, Chief Operating Officer CEVA Logistics, “The ongoing nature of the global pandemic means the delivery of vaccines around the world is the number one priority for the logistics industry. Our healthcare and pharma specialized teams have extensive experience in delivering vaccines and pharmaceutical products. Backed by a network of temperature-controlled warehouses and vehicles we are proud to support the Hope Consortium in achieving its goal”. The consortium has been put in place to handle the expected surge in vaccine volumes as production quantities grow. Its aim is to provide a complete supply chain solution anywhere in the world which includes transportation, demand planning, sourcing and digital technology infrastructure. It believes it will be able to distribute billions of doses by the end of the year and will focus on vaccines from all types of manufacturers.

Reacting to the ongoing lack of freight capacity on passenger flights, DB Schenker has extended its global flight network. For the first time in the company history, own-controlled flights connect America, Europe and Asia directly. The first of two routings touching three continents took off from Munich Airport this week. The new offer comes in addition to the major commercial block space agreements DB Schenker holds with preferred airline partners. Every week, the 43 flights can transport as much cargo as 135 wide-body passenger aircraft would hold. Thorsten Meincke, Member of the Management Board for Air and Ocean Freight at DB Schenker, says, “As air passenger travel is still far from recovery, we have decided to create new and reliable cargo options for our customers. I am especially excited about our new routes via Munich Airport. Our existing and strong flight network will become even more global.” As of this week, the first new route runs from Chicago (RFD) via Munich to Tokyo (NRT) and Seoul (ICN) before flying back to Germany and from there again to the US. It is operated by National Airlines and offers a combined weekly transport capacity of 400 tons. The second connection will be launched end of February and alternates from Munich to Chennai (MAA) and Chicago (RFD), with a combined weekly capacity of 300 tonnes. Both routes will run for one year to provide stability in a challenging environment. Jost Lammers, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board at Munich Airport, says, “We are very pleased that DB Schenker, one of the most important and largest logistics service providers in the world, has chosen Munich Airport as the hub for its intercontinental cargo …

Based on the views of road freight executives and experts from around the world, Shell and Deloitte have put out a joint study on how to decarbonise the road freight sector. The ‘Decarbonising Road Freight: Getting into Gear’ report offers a detailed 10-year roadmap with 22 solutions aimed at addressing the economic, technical, regulatory and organisational factors influencing the sector’s ability to decarbonise. The report shows that more than 70% of study participants view hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles as the most viable long term zero-emission heavy duty truck technology, and many believe these trucks will become commercially viable in the next 5 to 10 years. “Trucks move virtually everything modern society depends on for daily life and during the current COVID-19 crisis, society has experienced just how critical road freight is in delivering essential goods,” said Huibert Vigeveno, Downstream Director, Shell, in adding, “However, road freight is currently responsible for around 9% of global CO2 emissions and with demand for road freight services set to double by 2050, urgent action must be taken now to put the sector on a pathway to net zero emissions by then. Fleet companies, truck manufacturers and energy providers have already started investing in low and zero emission solutions, but the sector requires a more robust set of policies and regulations to accelerate change.” Shell has also released a companion report named ‘Decarbonising Road Freight: Shell’s Route Ahead’ outlining Shell’s role in helping the sector decarbonise. The report outlines Shell’s climate ambition and plans to reduce the emissions intensity of its fleet of close to 3,000 contracted road haulage tankers by 10% by 2025 and by 30% by 2030, both …

Marking a major milestone in air cargo digitalisation, Qatar Airways Cargo has announced that the airline will provide forwarders with real-time pricing, capacity, and eBookings via WebCargo. Forwarders globally will soon be able to conduct real-time eBookings, access live rates, and see available capacity with Qatar Airways Cargo via the service of WebCargo, a Freightos Group company, providing critical agility as supply chains contend with COVID-19’s impact and disruption. Rollout will begin with France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa and Spain on February 7, 2021. As part of the launch, Qatar Airways Cargo will be offering the most competitive rates on WebCargo by introducing a discount scheme to forwarders*, resulting in an average saving of US$ 0.06 per kg for the first 20,000 shipments booked via the platform in these countries. The cargo carrier is determined to push the development of WebCargo bookings and will also implement a number of special promotions further in the year. As of Q1 this year, more than 2,000 WebCargo forwarders and customers across over 10,000 global branches will have instant access to capacity and pricing. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo, Qatar Airways, said, “We are pleased to partner with WebCargo to provide true agility and digital connectivity for our customers. As a leading global carrier, we rely on constant innovation and digitalisation across all our operations in order to provide our best-in-class customer service. During the past months, we have introduced several digitalisation initiatives such as online rate distribution, ad hoc rate automation, track and trace and availability via API. The future of air cargo is indeed digital and this change will definitely bring in efficiency across the supply chain.” Zvi Schrieber, Group CEO, …

Virgin Atlantic is set to increase its cargo-only flying by 60 per cent this January as its operation continues to go from strength to strength. Despite a decrease in passengers travelling due to the UK’s latest lockdown as well as travel restrictions in many destinations, demand to transport cargo remains strong and the airline’s cargo operation has adapted once more to a rapidly changing external environment. Virgin Atlantic Cargo has increased its capacity on key routes taking the airlines’ cargo-only rotations from 21 up to 33 per week this month – an increase of 60 per cent – keeping global supply chains running and transporting essential goods across the globe. The broad cargo destination offering includes daily flights between London and Brussels, offering seamless and speedy same day European connections for customers. The increase in scheduled operations comes as Virgin Atlantic Cargo celebrates a historic and record breaking year in 2020. The cargo business operated 4,000 cargo only flights and also launched 10 new routes. These included Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dublin, Milan, Islamabad, Lahore, San Juan and Xiamen, an unprecedented feat during turbulent operating conditions and demanding trading environments. Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director, Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said, “The growth in our cargo-only flying this January demonstrates the agility and flexibility of our teams in order to maintain a resilient cargo operation in such dynamic market conditions. Despite a decrease in passengers travelling, demand to transport cargo remains strong and we’re delighted to play our part transporting a whole range of goods across the world, keeping vital global supply chains moving. The airline also continues to transport cargo on its scheduled passenger services to destinations including Atlanta, Barbados, Boston, New …

India has put one step ahead towards the aim of developing infrastructure of Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar; supplied a consignment of two Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) to Iran’s Chabahar port, with a total contract value of over US$ 25 million under a contract agreement for supply of 6 MHC. The consignment of cranes arrived from Marghera port, Italy has been unloaded successfully on January 18, 2021 at Chabahar port and presently undergoing trials run. With 140 metric tonnes lifting capacity, multipurpose equipment and accessories like Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) will enable India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) to provide seamless services for container, bulk and general cargo at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar. The bilateral contract between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of India was signed on May 23, 2016 with a total value of US$ 85 million ‎for equipping, mechanising and starting operations at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar development Phase- I. To achieve this ambitious aim, an SPV namely India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) Mumbai was incorporated under the ambit of the Ministry of Ports, ‎Shipping and Waterways. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, stated, “Chabahar Port is a strategic port with great national importance. The delivery of consignment of heavy equipment, including cranes shows India’s commitment to the strategic connectivity of Chabahar port project that will provide access to markets in Central Asia. Development of Chabahar port is the anchor for the expansion of economic and mutual relations between India and Iran and it will give a further boost to the maritime trade between both the countries. The location of Chabahar Port has strategically advantage and high potential to provide connectivity among India, …

Registering a record quarter at the end of 2020, Budapest Airport has handled a total of 134,459 tonnes of air cargo in 2020 and dealt with 38,868 tonnes of air cargo in Q4. Ferenc Liszt International Airport handled 6,118 air cargo flights last year, 17.6 per cent more than in 2019. Cargo volume fell only a 0.8 per cent decrease from last year. Cargo charter flights transporting medical equipment and other healthcare supplies accounted for approximately 6 per cent of last year’s cargo traffic, which meant handling around 350 dedicated flights in 2020. “The fact that cargo traffic at Budapest Airport remained stable during this extraordinary year is attributable to the exemplary perseverance of the cargo community. It is our strong intention to maintain the organizing and supporting role of the airport in this work,” said Rolf Schnitzler, CEO, Budapest Airport, in addinh, “It takes numerous players, precise coordination and a strong base like the BUD Cargo City to handle the cargo traffic of the airport. We remain committed to continuously developing air cargo and the BUD Cargo City; in 2021, we will commence preparations for the second phase, the design and construction of more cargo handling facilities, warehouses, and offices.” József Kossuth, Cargo Manager, Budapest Airport noted, “We have numerous other development projects underway, including, for example, supporting digitization needs required for the work of the cargo community, or the introduction in Hungary of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) CEIV Pharma certification system for the aerial transportation of pharmaceutical products, which is in the implementation phase. We believe that the airport and the BUD Cargo City will serve as a world-class, efficient, and sustainable cargo gateway to Central …

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s total cargo volume for 2020 declined by 8 per cent to 1.44 million tonnes compared to 2019. The airport notes that the last year’s freight volumes were shipped in three categories of flights. Full freighters accounted for 61 per cent of total volume, whilst passenger flights with belly space as well as passenger flights with only freight on board (pax-cargo-only) accounted for 29 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Inbound cargo volumes dropped by 4.7 per cent to 754,361 tonnes in 2020 compared to 2019, and outbound cargo volumes fell 11.7 per cent to 687,161 tonnes during the same period. The three biggest destinations for cargo tonnage were Shanghai, Doha and Chicago. “The 2020 figures are in line with our expectations given the challenging year we all had to face,” said Patricia Vitalis, incoming Director Airport Operations and Aviation Partnerships. Schiphol airport saw outbound traffic drop across regions, with Asia down 8.21 per cent to 238,889 tonnes in 2020 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, inbound cargo volume declined 0.58 per cent to 266,688 tonnes. The outbound North American market fell 8.27 per cent to 150,988 tonnes, whilst inbound was down 9.72 per cent to 101,132 tonnes. Cargo inbound to Latin America declined 10.84 per cent to 102,983 tonnes and outbound dropped 4.28 percent to 72,899 tonnes. European figures show outbound traffic fell 28.62 per cent to 85,395 tonnes and inbound increased 0.01 per cent to 106,487 tonnes. The Middle East market inbound showed a positive story as inbound was up 8.51 per cent to 101,014 tonnes, but outbound was down 9.28 percent to 96,321 tonnes. Outbound traffic to Africa was down 17.67 per cent to 42,669 tonnes …

DSV Panalpina will develop an integrated logistics centre close to the airport, railway and motorway. The new site in Rosersberg north of Stockholm offers an entire range of transport and logistics services and will be ready for use by the end of 2021. The traffic around Stockholm is particularly dense during rush hours and in addition to its cross-docking terminal in southern Stockholm DSV will establish a logistics centre at the Northern part of the city. “With the new location, goods for local customers can be shuttled between the northern and southern sites and be distributed from either of the locations. We will to a great extent avoid most rush hour problems which will enable us to improve on both pick-up, delivery times and reliability,” says Magnus Malmqvist, Managing Director, DSV Road AB, Sweden. Driven by e-commerce, the demand for advanced warehouse solutions customised to meet the requirements of this segment continues to increase. “With the new site, we can offer automated robotic storage combined with narrow aisle racking and thus a very efficient and competitive utilisation of the general warehouse space. The capacity is almost twice that of a conventional warehouse,” says Ian Swinhoe, Managing Director, DSV Solutions AB, Sweden The warehouse will occupy approximately 68,000 sqm and feature an automated robotic storage system and narrow aisle racking systems and altogether provide twice the usual warehouse capacity. The location will also comprise a 5,000 sqm cross-docking area and office space. “We are always looking for sustainable solutions when building new sites. The buildings will be DGNB certified, 80% of the materials can be reused, solar panels on the roof will provide a large part of the electricity required for …

DB Schenker has identified significant problems relating to the new customs formalities that now apply to shipments between the European Union and the United Kingdom (UK) as a result of Brexit. Only around 10 per cent of the customs documents submitted for consignments that DB Schenker has been commissioned to ship have been complete and free of errors. Most of the documents are incomplete and/or contain errors. DB Schenker employees who have been specially trained for Brexit are available around the clock to assist customers in completing the required customs documents correctly. Nevertheless, every consignment accompanied by incomplete and/or erroneous customs documents delays the departure of the associated full-load shipment. Consignments that are not properly declared cannot be delivered to their destinations. To effectively manage the increased workload that has resulted from this situation, DB Schenker is mobilizing personnel for the Brexit Task Force that the company established more than a year ago. These employees will be responsible for supporting corrections and producing compliant customs documents. Despite this extra effort, DB Schenker has been forced to put a temporarily hold on the acceptance of new consignments for shipment to the United Kingdom. The company bhas also announced that all consignments that have already been accepted will, as always, be delivered as quickly as possible. DB Schenker expects shipping volumes to increase further in January. The logistics services providers can only process consignments quickly if the share of correct and complete customs documents also increases significantly. Both shipper and consignees need to ensure that compliant documents are provided. With the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, such documents now include a proof of origin, a compliant invoice in conformance with current customs …