Air Cargo Forwarder News

The shift of freight from air to ocean is just a blip for container lines but has hit the air cargo industry hard, with few signs of relenting, a maritime consultant said Thursday.

Strong growth out of Hong Kong and China in September saw Cathay Pacific and Dragonair continuing to post double-digit growth as cargo and mail throughput rose 14.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

UPS added 766 U.S. postal codes to its UPS Worldwide Express Plus network in the third quarter, extending the reach of its international earliest morning service deeper into the U.S.

TNT Express today issued a profit warning for 2015 because of tough trading conditions in Europe.

Three global funds will invest $700 million in XPO Logistics, accelerating the fast-growing company's acquisition plans for 2014.

Deutsche Post DHL will use India to pilot the development of its e-commerce business model for the Asia-Pacific region via subsidiary Blue Dart Express.

The air cargo industry has been battling declining market share for years as cost-sensitive shippers move long-haul cargo from air to ocean transport, but that trend may be coming to an end, PIL Managing Director Teo Siong Seng says.

A quarter of Vietnam’s trade by value is shipped by air, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects the country to be the world’s fastest-growing air cargo market over the next three years, expanding at 6.6 percent a year.

Iceland has downgraded the alert level for a volcano from “red” to “orange” after backtracking on a statement made on Saturday that a small subglacial lavel eruption had begun under the site.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminals Co. Ltd (PACTL) reported 23 percent growth in air freight throughput in July year-over-year as strong demand from international markets continued.

Blue Dart Express, India’s leading air express and logistics services provider, reported its net profit fell 16 percent in the first fiscal quarter.

TNT Express today posted improved second-quarter results, driven by an ongoing restructuring program, cost cuts and a continued recovery at its previously loss-making Brazilian business.

Inadequate airspace capacity for civil air traffic, rapid growth of the Chinese aviation industry, capacity constraints at airports, and rigid operating regulations add up to congestion and delays for carriers serving the mainland’s busy cargo gateways, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The recent recovery in China’s air cargo exports could stall this month as flight cancellations and lengthy delays hit airports across China’s eastern seaboard where suspected military drills are wreaking havoc on commercial air space that is already in short supply.

The air freight market out of Asia is taking off, with solid figures reported by terminals, carriers, forwarders and the semiconductor industry, which plays a significant role in driving air cargo growth.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol posted a market-beating 8.8 percent growth in cargo traffic in the first half of the year, more than twice the increase at its closest rival London Heathrow Airport.

Endochoice, a six-year-old Atlanta-based importer of medical devices and disposable infectious control supplies and services for gastroenterologists, most of whom were in the U.S., had to reengineer its global supply chain last year when it acquired high-tech medical companies in Israel and Germany and began to manufacture and distribute a sophisticated new system for colonoscopies internationally.

It’s business as usual for air cargo shippers despite the heightened security at foreign airports with flights connecting to the U.S., the executive director of the Airforwarders Association says.

Rumors that the new iPhone 6 will be launched in September have not only consumers eagerly anticipating Apple’s latest model smartphone. Millions of the China-made phones will be shipped across the world in freighters and in the belly holds of airlines, providing a welcome spike in revenue and yields for the air cargo industry.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Ltd. (PACTL) continues to capture market share.

Industry experts say there’s one unintended side effect of maritime uncertainty: the chance for air freight volumes to soar.

The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarders and Logistics (HAFFA) has joined a coalition of global counterparts in calling for the U.S. federal government to seek input from small and midsize forwarders before expanding the Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) program

Air China Cargo and China Postal Airlines have strengthened their strategic partnership with the launch of a new service between Guangzhou and Nanjing as the carriers move to capture a growing share of the fast expanding mainland express market.

Growth in the express segment powered Transport Corporation of India to higher profit in fiscal year 2013-14, which ended March 31.

The revenue from China’s fast-growing e-commerce business is masking a decline in the price per parcel that is expected to spur consolidation.

TNT Express posted lower revenue and operating income in the first quarter on a mix of adverse currency movements, the sale of its domestic Chinese business and the pruning of unprofitable contracts.

Express delivery in China resulted in 2.6 billion deliveries in the first quarter, up 51.9 percent year-on-year, Xinhua reported.

Air cargo’s positive start to the year has buoyed spirits in an industry anxious to find profitability amid weak yields and an excess of capacity.

As more shippers shift freight from express to deferred services or even to ocean vessels to better manage inventory and cut logistics costs, it’s natural to come to the conclusion that the air cargo industry is in a tailspin. Industry leaders, including FedEx founder and CEO Frederick W. Smith, describe a price-service flashpoint that favors slower means of transport and warn of growing protectionism. The rise of near-shoring and near-sourcing shortens supply chains, reducing the need for long-distance air transport.

The global air cargo business has been losing market share to ocean freight over the past 13 years as shippers seek less costly transport solutions in ocean freight.

With more shippers choosing to defer shipment to delayed air services, ground and even ocean transport, the air cargo industry needs to respond boldly...

On a recent day in mid-December, two 747 freighters flew into MidAmerica St. Louis Airport loaded with 250,000 pounds of Chilean blueberries. Just days later, another 160,000 pounds of the fruit landed at the airport.

Air freight operators have almost completed their shift of capacity back into China following the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Asia’s leading air freight hubs have gotten off to an encouraging start to the year, posting healthy growth rates across the board in January.

The pilots of the UPS cargo plane that crashed on Aug. 14, 2013, had complained about the company’s tiring work schedules at the start of the fatal flight before making landing errors...

The e-commerce division of India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions group grew at a rapid rate in the latter half of 2013...