Trending Now

Building a Resilient Supply Chain with Advanced Predictive…

New Articles

Standardization Strategy impacting Flower Supply Chain Prepares for Second Trial Phase

Air Cargo, Archives, Global Trade Daily

Standardization Strategy impacting Flower Supply Chain Prepares for Second Trial Phase

Leave a comment

Europe’s fourth largest air cargo hub, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol teams up with the Holland Flower Alliance to support efforts surrounding the Ideal Flowerbox initiative. The goal of the initiative is to create a system of standardization and space efficiencies in shipping flowers, benefiting the flower supply chain in the region.

“The shipment of flowers is an important activity at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, so we are very supportive of the Ideal Flowerbox project and we are excited about the initial trial results showing how the box can improve sustainability in the supply chain,” said Roos Bakker, Director Business Development, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

“We actively encourage innovation within the air cargo community, and we believe that collaboration with the HFA partners will continue to yield positive results for all stakeholders involved in the shipment of flowers.”

After a successful first trial run led by Royal FloraHolland’s Senior Consultant Christo van der Meer,  a second phase for the trial period is in the works and could lead to future implementation of the strategy on additional flower routes in 2019.

“The initial trial was very successful with a 15 per cent increase of weight on airline pallets and boxes on the Nairobi to Amsterdam route, which demonstrates the value of collaboration between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Cargo, and Royal FloraHolland,” said van der Meer.

“The results show that with the use of the Ideal Flowerbox we are able to optimise the aircraft’s load factor, which is beneficial for a sustainable and efficient operation.”

Source: Schiphol

Air Cargo, Archives, Global Trade Daily

Amazon and the Fort Worth Alliance Airport Launch Facility Development

Leave a comment

Amazon’s air needs will soon be supported by DFW’s very own Fort Worth Alliance Airport, pending the completion of construction that kicked off for the new facility, according to a release last week. Launched originally in 2016 as “Amazon Air” representing the company’s first branded aircraft, this facility will primarily serve as a regional air hub.

“We are excited to build a brand new facility from the ground up at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport,” said Sarah Rhoads, Director of Amazon Air. “The new facility is the first of its kind for us and we’re thrilled to ensure we have the capacity to continue to delight our customers.”

With the new facility comes hundreds of jobs, as it was mentioned the framework will be built to support high-scale operations based on company needs. Some of the innovative technology features will include sortation capability and infrastructure to enable more than one flight a day.

“I am glad that Amazon Air selected Fort Worth Alliance Airport for its newest facility. As is proved time and again, North Texas is a great place to build a business and we welcome Amazon Air as the newest addition to our community,” said Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX)

The announcement received an ample amount of praise and welcome from various players within the industry, including Mayor Bob Golden who commented:

 “Haslet is very happy and excited to welcome another Amazon facility to our city,” said Mayor Bob Golden. “Amazon has been an awesome partner and we look forward to expanding that relationship in the future.”

Developments are underway and will continue to build the facility so operations can begin sooner than later.

“We are pleased to grow our partnership with Amazon here at Alliance,” said Bill Burton, executive vice president at Hillwood, the developer. “As one of the world’s most influential retail, technology and supply chain logistics companies, Amazon’s selection of Fort Worth Alliance Airport will continue to transform the airport’s role within the region.”

Source: Cooksey Communications

Airports, Archives, Global Trade Daily

Budapest Airport Strategy to Increase Trade with Asia

Leave a comment

Increased direct freighter and belly cargo routes are just a couple of the initiatives of the soon-to-be implemented strategy for Budapest Airport, according to a release this week. The strategy serves as a tandem effort with the BUD20:20 expansion programme.

“China plays a major part in our BUD:2020 growth programme, and we are working together with some of the country’s largest logistics and transport companies to meet rising demand for imports from China,” said René Droese, Executive Director Property and Cargo, Budapest Airport.

“The new freighter routes launched this year complement our existing direct and indirect scheduled freighter and belly cargo connections with China operated by Air China, Cargolux, Emirates, Qatar Airways Cargo, and Turkish Cargo. The forwarder community in our region is seeking new ways to reach the Asia market; in addition to this we are witnessing an increasing demand from Chinese e-commerce companies for new, efficient distribution hubs in Eastern Europe, which amounts to a unique opportunity for us.”

Another part of the strategy directly involves the Hungarian hub and increasing e-commerce initiatives. The airport saw a 22.9 percent increase in the volume of flown and trucked freight from October 2017 – 2018. Air cargo volumes flown at the BUD increased by more than 60 percent from 2015-2018. These growth rates are anticipated to continue with the recently disclosed strategies.

“We are witnessing historic moments in China; it was precisely 40 years ago that the Chinese Central Government, led by Deng Xiaoping, introduced the policy of opening the economy to foreign direct investment,” said Szilárd Bolla, the Consul General of Hungary in Shanghai. “Now, the government of Xi Jinping would like to call the attention of global players to the dynamically growing Chinese internal market. The quality of current diplomatic relations between the two countries and this momentum create an excellent opportunity for Hungarian businesses to enter the market.”

Source: Meantime Communications 

Archives, Global Trade Daily, Imports/Exports

Making Spirits Bright

Leave a comment

Beginning in early October, American Airlines has been diligently transporting over 10 tonnes of sweet chestnuts from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to JFK each day to prepare Americans for the quickly approaching holidays.

The sweet chestnuts originate from mountain harvesting in the Naples, Italy region and have a high American demand right now due to limited localized production options, according to a release this week from the company. Due to this increase in demand, efforts to transport the holiday classic kicked off earlier in the month of October and continues on strong, going on six weeks.  During a normal season, it usually lasts for only a couple of weeks.

“Whether its chestnuts roasting on the streets of New York or families preparing a traditional stuffing to accompany their Turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas, our team in Italy has worked hard with our shipper and forwarder partners to deliver record tonnages of chestnuts this year,” says Richard Hartmann, American’s Regional Cargo Sales Manager.

As the season of giving continues, American everywhere can be thankful for the hard working efforts of the American Airlines cargo team for supplying one of the most classical items enjoyed during this time of the year.

 

About American Airlines Cargo

American Airlines Group is the holding company for American Airlines. American provides one of the largest cargo networks in the world with cargo terminals and interline connections across the globe. Every day, American transports cargo between major cities in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia.

American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.

Air Cargo, Archives, Global Trade Daily

GTA Partnership To Boost Cargo Charter Market Reach

Leave a comment

GTA Air Solutions and Chapman Freeborn’s recent partnership will enable Canadian customers and their international access within the charter solutions sector while strengthening global efforts for the companies.

“Through this partnership, Canadian customers will have greater choice and access to a wider range of charter products than before. GTA is a business with its roots firmly in Canada, and they are ideally placed to help us extend our reach in this market. We’ve been impressed by their ambition, the strength of their relationships and the level of customer service they provide,” Chapman Freeborn CEO Russi Batliwala commented.

Beyond the charter solutions trade sector, more partnerships are blossoming as others opt for joint-ventures and even big-business acquisitions to boost global reach, provide expansive solutions and provide customers with a new standard of operations and delivery.

“We are delighted to have partnered with Chapman Freeborn, a fantastic company which has been at the forefront of the charter industry for over 45 years. We see huge potential in marketing their services in the Canadian market,” GTA CEO and Chairman Mario D’Urso said.

Another plus springing from the partnership includes promotion of the specialist on board courier division Chapman Freeborn boasts within its business model, as GTA is said to already plan on supporting efforts for the time-critical shipment solution.

With a long history of successful company initiatives, it’s no surprise these two will create operational standards that others can refer to in a time of partnering solutions.

Source: Chapman Freeborn 

Air Cargo, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News

Global Air Cargo Volume to Double by 2033

Leave a comment

Chicago, IL – Boeing has released a report projecting air cargo traffic to grow at an annual rate of 4.7 percent over the next 20 years, with global air freight traffic expected to more than double by 2033.

Major air cargo carriers were severely hit by the global financial crisis in 2008 and, despite a rebound in 2010, worldwide air cargo traffic has remained flat in recent years, the World Air Cargo Forecast said.

The market began to see growth again in second quarter of 2013 reaching 4.4 percent for the first seven months of 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier.

If this trend continues, 2014 will be the highest growth year for the air freight industry since 2010, according to the Boeing report.

“We see strong signs of a recovery as air freight traffic levels continue to strengthen after several years of stagnation,” said Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes’ vice president of marketing.

The global air cargo market “is now growing at nearly the long-term rates,” he said in a statement.

The new forecast shows Asia-North America and Europe-Asia will continue to be the dominant world air cargo markets with the most traffic volume. Intra-Asia, domestic China and Asia-North America markets are expected to have the fastest growth rates over the next 20 years.

With increased air cargo traffic, the world freighter fleet is also expected to grow with deliveries of 840 new factory-built airplanes and 1,330 passenger-to-freighter conversion airplanes.

More than 52 percent of those deliveries are expected to replace retiring airplanes and the remainder used for fleet expansion.

10/17/2014

Air Cargo, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News

Amerijet Expands Domestic US Logistics Footprint

Leave a comment

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Amerijet International Inc. is gearing up for its domestic US freighter operation by awarding its East and West Coast road feeder bid to its ITS Logistics.

The contract connects nine US cities to Amerijet’s new domestic air cargo hubs at Reno‐Tahoe International Airport and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus utilizing dedicated 53 foot ‘air-ride’ trailers.

Amerijet has begun daily B767 freighter operations between its new hubs providing long‐haul air freight service for intercontinental and domestic freight.

Dedicated road feeder services between Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Reno on the west coast and Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Newark, Atlanta, Miami and Columbus on the East Coast will allow the company to provide its customers with a 1‐2 day service coast to coast.

Amerijet International, Inc. is full‐service multi‐modal transportation and logistics provider, offering US domestic and international, scheduled all‐cargo transport via land, sea, and air.

The company connects over 30 major cities in the US with more than 600 destinations worldwide, providing global transportation solutions for customers throughout the Americas, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

07/31/2014

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News

Logistics Costs For US Companies Climbed in 2013

Leave a comment

Lombard, IL – Logistics costs for US-based businesses climbed by 2.3 percent last year to $1.39 trillion, according to the latest State of Logistics Report (SOL), released by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and Penske Logistics.

According to the SOL, the first five months of 2014 “have had the strongest freight performance since the end of the Great Recession, with freight shipments up 13.1 percent.”

Yet, the report said, logistics as a percent of US gross domestic product (GDP) declined for the second year in a row, “indicating that the logistics sector is not keeping pace with the growth in the overall economy.”

Based on the SOL, Penske Logistics sees moderately improving US economic conditions, in the form of better dedicated contract carriage growth; a solid near- and long-term automotive sector outlook; and an improving manufacturing sector, also evidenced in the May reading published by the Institute for Supply Management that showed the fastest pace of manufacturing growth this year.

The nation’s supply chain sector, the report said, “faces distinct challenges, including a significant employment gap in the form of a serious shortage of truck drivers to handle the immense amount of inventory that needs to be moved around the country.”

To address this problem, the SOL said, “the industry is raising driver wages, but it remains the most pressing issue hampering sector growth. In fact, by the end of last year, despite strong inventory growth at warehouses, SOL recorded a record low rate of shipments, with inventory not moving swiftly enough, and the cost to store inventory rising. “

This employment gap/driver shortage “could continue to take its toll on the industry, and is an interesting phenomenon to juxtaposed against the labor force participation rate, which sits at historic lows.”

The SOL found that trucking costs topped the list of transportation costs in 2013 at $657 billion; railroad costs came in at $74 billion; water (ocean and inland waterways), $37 billion; air, $33 billion; and freight forwarder costs, $38 billion.

06/18/2014