On Air with Air Cargo Next

In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Associate Editor Kelly Stroh speaks with Alexey Zotov, head of sales of AirBridgeCargo, part of Volga-Dnepr Group, about how the air cargo market has been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect on the carrier’s relationship with forwarders.  

The pandemic has dramatically altered global supply chains, complicating not only capacity availability, but also the traditional ways in which carriers and forwarders cooperate. Consequently, the current state of forwarder-controlled charters, block-space negotiation and digitalization initiatives catalyzed by the pandemic could leave forwarder-carrier communication changed long after the world emerges from the pandemic. 

For more on how the pandemic has changed the carrier-forwarder relationship, see our full feature in the latest online issue of Air Cargo World. 

The increased focus on digitalization in air cargo during the pandemic is by now well established as logistics companies seek to become more agile and adapt to a rapidly changing global airfreight market. Legacy processes that relied on phone calls and emails are now too slow to accommodate shipper needs in today’s disrupted market.

Years before the pandemic began, major forwarders began adopting transportation management systems (TMS), which allow logistics companies plan and optimize their freight flows across modes. But the abrupt changes in freight flows and demands during 2020 have reinforced the need for visibility into supply chains and are prompting more companies to utilize TMS as a foundational part of business planning.

In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Ron Lazo, vice president of professional services at Manhattan Associates, about technology trends and demands the supply chain solutions company is seeing.

The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine. 

The past year in airfreight logistics has seen the rise of multiple trends, among them an increase in digital initiatives and a rapid rise in demand for e-commerce cargo. Teleport, the logistics venture of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, focuses heavily in both areas.

A younger company in the logistics space, Teleport has built its logistics services to align with its digital goals, including with the 2020 launch of its digital air cargo network on the blockchain platform Freightchain. The company is in the process of bringing several new carriers onto the platform and has a bullish outlook on cargo demand in Southeast Asia, where it is based, with e-commerce growing at around 40% per year. 

In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Editor Caryn Livingston talks to Teleport CEO Pete Chareonwongsak about the use of technology to optimize cargo loads across the fleets of AirAsia and Teleport’s other airline partners, and the current and expected growth trajectory for e-commerce in Southeast Asia. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of most brick-and-mortar retail locations in countries around the world, retailers and many other businesses entered the e-commerce space or grew their e-commerce investments to adapt to changes in consumer behavior. The growth in this sector of retail has been a major driver of airfreight strength over the past year, and is leading to investments that will expand logistics footprints for decades to come.

Despite the recent increase in cases in India and some other countries, vaccinations are well underway in several countries and some lockdowns are easing, leading to the reopening of many retail businesses. The higher airfreight rates driven by the current capacity shortage will also eventually return to more normal levels when passenger aviation increases, meaning express carriers may no longer realize the record profits that peak surcharges have helped them achieve during the past year. Airfreight’s place in e-commerce fulfillment beyond the pandemic remains to be seen.

In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson talks to Charles Brewer, chief operating officer for Canada Post, about the e-commerce growth of the past year, the longer-term outlook for e-commerce logistics and whether the pursuit of e-commerce cargo will be a viable strategy for realizing profits beyond the pandemic.

The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine. 

The pandemic’s challenges to all modes of transportation have contributed to varied solutions, from passenger freighters to an increase in express ocean freight shipments. The logistics industry is also looking to technology to help mitigate market volatility and smooth processes around capacity booking, airport pickup and drop-off of cargo, and other areas. 

California-based startup Airspace has created a technology platform that expedites transportation and improves accuracy and visibility for time-critical shipments across transportation modes. Airspace’s ability to reroute critical shipments has attracted attention due to the disruption from the pandemic, and has helped the startup secure more than $70 million across three funding rounds, the most recent closing in January at $38 million.

For this launch of our new podcast segment “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” host Cathy Morrow Roberson, founder of Logistics Trends & Insights and a regular Air Cargo World contributor, is joined by Airspace co-founder and CTO Ryan Rusnak. Hear Roberson and Rusnak discuss the niche that Airspace has carved out in time-critical shipments, and the startup’s expansion goals.

The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine.

Improving gender balance in air cargo has been a topic for many years, and the need for change is evident in the way that there are very few women in decision making and executive roles, or speaking at industry events, according to an industry data report by IATA. A new partnership between Meantime Communications and Change Horizon forged on March 8, or International Women’s Day, aims to bring gender imbalance issues to the foreground and help the air cargo logistics industry overcome these issues.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Kelly Stroh talks to industry executives Emma Murray and Celine Hourcade about their new Women in Aviation and Logistics Pledge program, as well as gender equality in the industry. The program strives to not only spark conversation regarding the lack of visibility for women industry professionals, but also offers solutions to help reconcile this issue.

As COVID-19 vaccine shipments accelerate, more innovations in container technology are likely on the horizon. However, it is not only temperature deviations that present a threat to vaccine integrity — as high-value, important and time-critical cargo, vaccine shipments also face physical and digital security risks.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Joshua Aelick talks to Nathan de Valck, Frank van Gelder and Emir Pineda of Pharma.Aero about some of the security issues surrounding the transport of COVID-19 vaccines. The Brussels-based, collaborative organization unites airports, pharma shippers and other stakeholders to ensure shipments are immune to other dangers. 

Kuehne+Nagel Q4 earnings this week saw soaring airfreight rates support revenues for some freight forwarders in 2020 while other transport modes struggled, but volatility in rates, particularly in the spot market ex-Asia, could threaten gross profits in the months ahead.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Charles Kauffman and Caryn Livingston discuss how new strategies developed by airlines and freight forwarders in 2020 are affecting the airfreight market so far in 2021. With insights from the latest Baltic Air Freight Index report, their discussion covers capacity and rate volatility in the weeks ahead and following the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as the outlook for when relief may finally arrive for the capacity crunch.

Aviation has struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly due to widespread cancellations of passenger flights and travel bans. Air cargo carriers, however, have seen demand vastly outpace available capacity, leading to higher airfreight rates and surcharges.

All-cargo carriers and the express industry have reaped the benefits of airfreight demand, due to their all-freighter operations, without suffering the penalties associated with large fleets of passenger aircraft. Major express carriers are further benefiting from increased e-commerce demand during 2020, and for the foreseeable future.

In this episode of the On Air with Air Cargo World, Editor Caryn Livingston is joined by Cathy Roberson, founder and president of Logistics Trends & Insights and a regular contributor to Air Cargo World, to discuss how the express market has changed in the past year. This episode covers trends in express, e-commerce, and how recent developments in the space will affect industry players like FedEx, UPS, DHL and Amazon in the years ahead. 

Air Cargo World editors and readers selected Eddy Liu, vice president of cargo at China Airlines, as 2020’s Air Cargo Executive of the Year. In Liu’s profile and the cover feature for the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Air Cargo World, Associate Editor Jeff Lee delves into how China Airlines has evolved its operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We and our readers also selected Dorothea von Boxberg of Lufthansa Cargo and Yngve Ruud of Kuehne + Nagel as two Executives to Watch in 2021. These air cargo executives helped guide their divisions through the most challenging year in aviation history, and for reasons revealed in their respective profiles, should continue their successes in 2021 and beyond.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, excerpts of the interviews conducted with these executives reveal how they adapted their respective operations in 2020 and how they are maintaining flexibility during a time of ongoing uncertainty.

Read the full stories in the December/January digital issue.

Dozens of trans-Pacific cargo flights into Los Angeles Airport (LAX) were canceled this week through at least Dec. 10. COVID-19 cases among ground handlers at LAX and other U.S. airports, including Chicago O’Hare (ORD), have slowed airfreight handling, even as longer delays in ocean freight are pushing shippers toward air. The supply chain strain comes at the height of this year’s peak season, when airfreight sees its busiest time of year, and subsequently higher airfreight rates have pushed more passenger freighters back into cargo service. 

Simultaneously, shipments of personal protective equipment are increasing again as the U.S. hits its worst point yet for new infections and European countries have reinstituted lockdowns. India-based SpiceJet, which operates converted freighters and passenger freighters, is planning to transport PPE between the U.S. and India, and has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a foreign air carrier permit. Initial shipments are likely to occur using wet leased A340 passenger freighters operated by Hi Fly. 

Vaccines also began flying recently ahead of regulatory approvals, with United Airlines using its passenger freighters to position vaccines made by Pfizer ahead of wider distribution. Forwarders this week explained why passenger freighters may have found a niche for initial distribution and point-to-point vaccine shipments in the weeks and months ahead. 

Following his recent cover story, “Immunity by Air,” which dives into how stakeholders across the air cargo supply chain are working to prepare for vaccine distribution, Senior Editor Charles Kauffman spoke with Matt Castle, C.H. Robinson’s VP of global forwarding products and services, about how the 3PL is planning for the task ahead.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Kauffman and Castle discuss the current state of the pharma cold chain, how C.H. Robinson is making contingency plans for existing customers as vaccine information eventually emerges, and how vaccine-adjacent commodities are already being transported in advance of an approved vaccine.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Senior Editor Charles Kauffman discusses the contingency planning that is underway at Amsterdam Airport (AMS) with Maarten van As, managing director of Air Cargo Netherlands, the country’s industry association. While many developed countries are well-equipped to distribute a vaccine, Van As discusses the potential role global hubs such as AMS, may play in extending the cool chain, and delivering vaccines to developing countries.  

This episode of On Air with Air Cargo World was created from an early October interview with van As, who provided us with insights into how regulatory agencies and customs are working with airport stakeholders to prepare for a vaccine distribution scenario still plagued by unknown factors and potential bottlenecks.

Read the full feature story in the digital issue of Air Cargo World.

Despite cost-cutting measures across the logistics industry, air cargo operators and freight forwarders have largely stayed the course in their pursuit of lower emissions and sustainable logistics. 

The August feature story “Greener on the other side” highlights some of the initiatives and companies targeting more environmentally friendly operations. In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, we continue the focus on sustainability with Neil Cloughley, founder and CEO of U.K.-based Faradair Aerospace, which six years ago introduced the concept for its bio-electric-hybrid-aircraft, or BEHA. Cloughley discusses Faradair’s concept for a hybrid-electric aircraft the company hopes will help pave the way for cleaner and quieter regional cargo operations, and the obstacles still standing in the way of industry-wide advancement toward sustainability.

This week, Air Cargo World published an overview of second-quarter results for major Asian cargo carriers, which held some surprising traffic results for Korean Air Cargo and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Cargo. Meanwhile, some airlines are preparing for the eventual likelihood that airfreight will be utilized for widespread global distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. Finally, in U.S. election news, aviation PACs are tending more toward donations to Democratic political candidates than they have in a decade. 

The hospitality sector has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some freight forwarders are optimistic that travel demand will return, and companies in this industry need to prepare their supply chains for the eventual recovery.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, New York-based freight forwarder Sobel Network Shipping’s president and CEO Brian Wills speaks on the opening of the company’s Miami office and its new division launched in June, offering logistics services to cruise lines and hotels. 

This week, Air Cargo World launched the layoff tracker, covering air cargo logistics layoffs from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been mitigated for now in the United States by federal relief programs, and this week, major cargo handler Swissport announced it had received $170 million in relief funds to support its U.S. payroll.

Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce demand has soared thanks to lockdowns that have turned the retail tide in favor of online shopping compared with brick-and-mortar. Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has launched a new Hong Kong-Madrid route operated by Volga-Dnepr Group subsidiary AirBridgeCargo in support of cross-border e-commerce, with many more charters ahead for 2020.

Finally, Latin America has been hit particularly hard by the lockdowns and passenger flight cancellations. With some service in the Americas beginning to return, cargo capacity is slowly returning in passenger aircraft bellies. Still, a forwarder with a large South American network tells Air Cargo World there is a long way to go in terms of reopening capacity.

Find this and more in this week’s edition of the Weekly Wrap, featuring Editor Caryn Livingston and Publisher JJ Hornblass.

This week, Air Cargo World published its second June feature story on digital payment platforms, how airlines and forwarders view this emerging technology, and how ongoing lawsuits between the major players in this space could affect the future of this corner of air cargo digitalization. Meanwhile, other areas of digitalization are doing well despite the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating a shift in industry thinking about the importance of investments in technology. In express news, DHL opened its first U.S. company-owned retail store.

In this episode, Cathy Roberson, founder of Logistics Trends & Insights, and Caryn Livingston, editor at Air Cargo World, speak on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the evolution of technology and business across the air cargo industry.