IATA report 2013 as a 'weak' year for airfreight

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported airfreight saw a weak growth during 2013, with only 1.8% more volumes overall compared to the previous year. The trend is a possible reflection of on-shoring, where manufacturing is kept close to its market. Domestic freight tonnes carried and freight and mail tonne kilometres both saw domestic growth overtake international increases.

The amount of tonnes carried increased by 3.4% domestically, however internationally the increase was a sheer 1.3%. Freight and mail tonne kilometres rose by 2.9% domestically, while international traffic saw a rise of 1.6%. Despite the slight increases, IATA's Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Tyler, has said that 2013 saw "48 million tonnes of cargo...carried on about 100,000 flights a day."

Statistics also reported the decreases in the average price of jet fuel, brining it down by 3.9% in 2013 compared to 2012, however this year has seen a slight rise in jet fuel prices again.

According to the World Air Transport Statistics, the top 10 airlines for tonnes carried were; Asiana Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Korean Air, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, with Emirates being the number one.

DHL launches new weekly train link from China to Poland

DHL Global Forwarding, the freight division of mail and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL, has developed a new door-to-door delivery service between Europe and China, it was announced earlier this week. In partnership with rail operator YHF logistics, DHL will offer a new train service between Chengdu in South West China and Poland, cutting transit times by 40 days compared to ocean freight. 

The new 14-day long route to Malaszewicze, Poland, costs just a sixth of the air freight cost for the same journey and, after passing through DHL's Polish hub, includes an onward route to Moscow via truck, meaning a transit of 20 days from China to the Russian capital. 

Asia Pacific CEO for DHL Global Forwarding acknowledged it may seem counter-intuitive to ship through Russia, to Poland, then back to Moscow but defended the move in an interview with Post and Parcel on the grounds that it enabled avoidance of the complex and potentially problematic Moscow rail system. "Our innovative multi-modal team has found that mixing two different modes of rail and truck and taking this route in fact cuts transit time and transport costs significantly by pre-empting and overcoming potetnial delays that be encountered when entering Moscow by rail," he said.

Bi-lateral trade between Poland and China grew 11.2% year-on-year in 2012. DHL is doubtless aware of the growing importance of China to the Global Economy and to its own future profitability. The company recently held its annual technology conference in Shanghai, China, at which the importance of the Asian market was a prime concern. The logistics provider also dedicated the opening pages of its 2012 annual report to a special chapter on China entitled, "Pioneering Future Markets".

Source: Post and Parcel

Out with the old and in with the new: FedEx retires Boeing 727 and adds 1,900 new vehicles to its flight

After declaring the end of a chapter in aviation history last Friday when it announced the retirement of its long-serving Boeing 727 aircraft, US logistics giant FedEx revealed the addition of 1,900 new fuel-efficient vehicles to its fleet this afternoon.

The retired B727 (C/O Eric Prado)

The 1,900 new additions to the fleet are lightweight, composite-body Reach vehicles, the engines and lower-weight bodies of which achieve a reduction in exhaust emissions compared to conventional walk-in vans. The new vehicles are 35% more fuel efficient than traditional vehicles in the FedEx Express fleet and will help the company realise efficiency savings at the same time as working towards its green target of reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. 

Go-ahead given for O’Hare International Airport Northeast Cargo Centre

Chicago is currently experiencing a wave of economical changes. The city just reached an agreement with Aeroterm LLC who will help with the construction of a new air cargo centre aka the Chicago O’Hare International Airport Northeast Cargo Centre.

Image c/o healthyinchicago.wordpress.com

Aeroterm are going to invest $130 million and are therefore funding over 50 per cent of the project. Another $62 million are going to be taken out of Airport funds, bringing the total cost of the new air cargo centre to $200 million. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that

“O’Hare is one of [Chicago’s] key economic engines and this project will vastly increase O’Hare’s cargo operations capacity, create thousands of quality jobs for Chicagoans, and increase Chicago’s competitive position as a global transportation and cargo leader.”

In fact, the city’s new air cargo facility is supposed to create 1,200 construction jobs and the same amount of permanent on-side cargo employment opportunities. Beyond that, the plan is also to employ 10,000 regional workers.

The construction of O’Hare International Airport Northeast Cargo Centre will be divided into three phrases and spread across 65 acres of undeveloped property. All hopes of Chicago’s future economical growth via air cargo rest on this gigantic project.

Chicago is already the number one gateway for air freight and particularly imports from China, capturing a market share of 25 per cent.

Source: Office of the Major (City of Chicago)