LATEST ISSUE
Winter 2021
Strong demand for goods and severe disruption of international supply chains have continued throughout much of this year, putting further pressure on an air freight system already short of capacity. With peak season adding further demand, cargo handlers at many airports have also been under strain from a multitude of other factors including greater numbers of smaller shipments, the need to load and unload cabin cargo on preighters, stronger competition for staff, and unpredictable demand from chartered capacity. And shortages of truck drivers and freight forwarders lacking spare warehouse capacity has led to cargo waiting around longer than necessary in handling sheds.
As handlers seek solutions, one positive has been a greater willingness to cooperate and find solutions to some of these congestion issues among air freight stakeholders and sometimes even competitors. And there have also been more open conversations between handlers, airlines and airports about what they can achieve, how to optimise resources, and temporary solutions to boost warehouse capacity (see ACHL report, from page 44). But better advance information from freight forwarder customers would help handlers manage and better plan their resources in general, as highlighted in the Europe report (page 10).
Stakeholders within pharma logistics have also reported greater cooperation across the air logistics chain, with shippers keen to maintain the spirit of collaboration, as reported in the Airfreight Pharma conference report on page 28.
Greater digitalisation will also help, and this process continues to move forward, albeit slower than many would like. One interesting observation in the ACHL report is that the slowness of digitalisation is now deterring some young people from entering an industry that still requires pen and paper technology. But as older industry workers retire, the shift to digital will accelerate further.
Meanwhile, new technology continues to be introduced into cargo sheds, including fully autonomous ground vehicles being tested by Swissport, and the introduction of wearable technology (page 4).
Meanwhile, sustainability has come rapidly to the fore, and will play an even greater role as this decade progresses, highlights DB Schenker CEO Jochen Thewes in an interview on page 38. While we wait for a breakthrough in aviation fuel technology, improvements are possible through more efficient ground operations. And on the aircraft side, the newly launched A350 freighter promises greater efficiency than the capacity it will replace.
In the meantime, many observe that digitalisation also plays a key role here, alongside other technological developments. Anything that improves visibility and efficiency has a knock-on benefit for sustainability and costs – sometimes at the margin with quantitative improvements, and sometimes via qualitative leaps – as well as supporting customers’ decisions. In many cases, we can’t see what the benefits will be of new tech until it’s introduced – as we are finding regularly now in our own personal use of digital tech – which is an added reason to push ahead.
Take A Peek,
Featured in this issue
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Appetite for automation
Air cargo sheds still trail logistics warehouses in implementing technology such as robotics, wearables, and AI. But some leading handlers and carriers are catching up, as the demand and applications ...
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Bring Back Better: ACHL Conference Report
The 13th annual Air Cargo Handling Logistics Conference successfully took place again this year as a digital event, with CAAS providing an in-depth report on the Customer Focus session The 13th ann...
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Facing air freight’s sustainability challenge
Jochen Thewes, chairman and CEO of freight forwarding and logistics giant DB Schenker, is a committed enthusiast for more-sustainable logistics and believes the sector will make significant steps this...
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Ground handlers struggle with ‘new normal’ bottlenecks
European airports and their stakeholders have been battling with significant short-term congestion challenges, in part due to Covid-related capacity and demand volatility and workforce limitations. Bu...
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Pharmaceuticals hit warp speed
Pharma shippers want to see a continuation of the increased openness and collaborative spirit that Covid has brought about in the pharma logistics supply chain, reports Megan Ramsay from this year’s...
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The making of an Aerotropolis – China’s Zhengzhou Airport
In less than a decade, CGO has developed from a modest, domestically focused airport with Foxconn serving as its industrial anchor into a Tier 1 international airport and global air logistics hub alon...
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