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Ceva flies urgent equipment to Indonesia

Forwarding

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August 25, 2021

Ceva flies urgent equipment to Indonesia

Freight forwarder Ceva Logistics has moved the first oxygen concentrators from Los Angeles to Indonesia via Singapore for an aid project organised by the Changi Airport Group.

With many Southeast Asian and Pacific countries affected by the highly transmissible Delta variant, medical supplies of all kinds are urgently needed. In total, 1,380 machines are being donated by the Changi Foundation together with more than 30 other airport partners, as well as individual airport employees.

Ceva was also appointed by General Motors in April 2020 to manage its entire ventilator production supply chain to support the US pandemic response and was responsible for delivering hundreds of parts to the GM Kokomo, Indiana, facility, settling up the entire supply chain in a week.

PPE lifts air broker to record result

Brokers

Chris Lewis

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August 25, 2021

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Cargo was the main driver of record financial results for Air Charter Service (ACS), said the UK-based international broker. The company achieved sales of over $1.2 billion in the financial year ending January 2021, thanks largely to the effect of the Covid pandemic.

With up to 80% of air freight usually travelling in the belly of scheduled passenger aircraft, the cancellation of many passenger flights meant that charter solutions were needed to compensate, and ACS was in one of the strongest positions to provide them.

ACS moved a large amount of goods from China including PPE and test kits and, later on, more general cargo from reopening factories, through often overwhelmed airports. As well as using dedicated freighters, ACS’ group charter division also stepped in to source passenger aircraft for use as bellyhold freighters and, in some cases using space in the passenger cabin.

Gulf Air renews Cargospot deal

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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August 24, 2021

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Gulf Air has signed renewed its agreement with IT specialist for CHAMP for its Cargospot suite, including airline, handling, and revenue accounting. The Bahrain-based carrier will also implement the newly developed ebooking engine, Cargospot Portal, as well as Cargospot Business Intelligence.

Covid hits China airfreight

Airports

Chris Lewis

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August 20, 2021

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Freight forwarder Woodland International is warning that airfreight shipments from China are being disrupted following a Covid case was reported at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport Cargo Terminal ( PACTL) All staff have been sent to take tests, and most flights handled by PACTL are expected to be cancelled over the next few days.

Pudong’s China Eastern Cargo Terminal is still operating but with significantly reduced manpower leading to cargo planes departing without being fully loaded.

Shanghai International Airport Services Co was already warning of limited ground handling services at cargo terminals due to drastically reduced staff numbers as a result of Covid cases and strict new regulations which again have resulted in many flights leaving without having been fully loaded or unloaded.

Handling staff get a new look

Ground Handling

Chris Lewis

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August 19, 2021

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Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has launched a smart new uniform for its cargo and ground handling employees in North America and the rest of the world.

The roll-out of 125,000 items will start in September and be completed in 2022 for staff working in cargo handling, ramp handling, passenger services and baggage handling across WFS’ network of 170 major airport stations in 20 counties.

The new uniform is based on the blue and red of WFS’ corporate identity.

Delta Cargo marks 75 years in the air

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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August 18, 2021

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Delta Cargo is marking its 75th anniversary this month, tracing its humble beginnings from a shipment of fresh mushrooms on board a DC-3 to Atlanta in August 1946.

In that first week of operation, the airline carried a 64-year-old, $1,500 soup tureen; 1,100 lbs of auto parts; 450 lbs of candy; and a box of silver coins.

But in a sense, the history goes back further; Delta planes had served the Allies during World War II, transporting everything from food and surgical supplies to weapons and auto parts overseas, which helped Delta turn cargo transport into a full-fledged business.

Milestones in the decades since included shipping donated blood through the American Red Cross to United Nations forces during the Korean War; the first international cargo flights to the Caribbean and Venezuela, in 1953; the first dog to fly on a commercial jet from Houston to New York City in 1959; .a Delta L-100 cargo plane carrying NASA’s Surveyor 3 spacecraft from Los Angeles to Cape Kennedy, Florida; and the launch of DASH, which has become Delta’s most popular cargo product in 1970.

Bringing the story up to date, Delta opens its first Cargo Control Center to improve customer experience in 2017 and in the same year a Critical version of DASH was launched with distinctive pink packaging marking priority shipments.

Today, Delta Cargo carries on average 2.2 billion cargo tons every year including life-saving pharmaceuticals, organs for transplant, fresh flowers, seasonal produce or beloved pets.

It also regularly assists with humanitarian efforts, for example carrying over 800,000lbs of supplies to cities in need after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017.

And needless to say, it also has carried essential protective equipment and medical supplies around the world during the Covid pandemic.

Qatar poised to complete Webcargo rollout

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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August 18, 2021

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Qatar poised to complete Webcargo rollout

Qatar Airways Cargo says it will roll out its third-party eBooking platform, WebCargo by Freightos across most of its worldwide network from 23 August. Forwarders in the carrier’s worldwide network will be able to place eBookings from online or offline origins with access to live rates and capacity on the platform.

Chief officer cargo, Guillaume Halleux said: “Within a short span of six months, we will complete our global rollout of WebCargo by Freightos on 23 August and I am proud of all our teams who have worked dedicatedly all these months to ensure a successful implementation.”

Earlier, the carrier announced the roll-out of the platform across the US.

Norse to fly from US to Europe

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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August 18, 2021

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New low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways is looking to start operations next year, including flights between the US and London Gatwick and other European airports next year. The company says that demand for transatlantic travel will recover by late Q1 or early Q2 2022 that all its 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners will be in operation next summer.

Norse has applied for a Norwegian Air Operating Certificate AOC and is in the process of applying for a British AOC. The Unite union in the UK welcomed the move, saying that it would be an opportunity for employees of former carrier Norwegian, who were made redundant in January.

DHL to buy drinks forwarder Hillebrand

Forwarding

Chris Lewis

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August 17, 2021

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Deutsche Post DHL Group has signed an agreement to acquire up to 100% of specialist European-based beverages forwarder JF Hillebrand Group and its subsidiaries for around €1.5 billion. It will be combined with DHL’s Freight division.

Hillebrand specialises in ocean freight forwarding, transport and logistics of beverages, non-hazardous bulk liquids and other products that require special care, using innovative flexitanks and ISO tank containers. It generated revenue of around €1.4 billion in the last twelve months and will ship some 500,000teu in 2021. The company has more than 2,700 employees worldwide.

DPDHL group chief executive Frank Appel, said: “With the growing maturity of our freight forwarding business, this bolt-on acquisition of Hillebrand is highly complementary to our existing portfolio. In line with our Group Strategy, we strengthen our core logistics business and deliver profitable long-term growth.”

DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, chief executive, Tim Scharwath, described the acquisition as “an exceptional opportunity and an excellent fit with our strategy. We are excited to work with the entire Hillebrand team to further develop their best-in-class business on our platform.”

DHL said it would benefit from Hillebrand’s know-how and customer experience in bulk liquids and other special care commodities and also offered a wide range of value-added services,.

Hillebrand would in turn benefit from DHL Global Forwarding’s network in over 190 countries and global forwarding expertise in air, ocean and road freight.

JF Hillebrand group chief executive and chairman, Cees van Gent, commented: “The two companies are a perfect match and we are pleased to announce our agreement to unite and form a future together. I am proud of what the Hillebrand teams in true collaboration with our loyal customers and vendors have built over our 177-year history and we now look forward to joining forces with Deutsche Post DHL Group.”

The transaction is subject to merger control clearance in certain jurisdictions, including the EU and US, expected in the coming months. DPDHL intends to fund the acquisition with available cash.

DSV completes Agility takeover

Business

Chris Lewis

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August 16, 2021

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DSV Panalpina has completed its takeover of Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics business. The acquisition puts DSV is in the top three global logistics companies, with expected combined revenue of about DKK 160 billion (US$25.3bn)and a combined workforce of 75,000 employees in more than 90 countries.

It follows the Danish giant’s earlier purchases of Panalpina in 2019 and US-based UTi Worldwide in 2016.

GIL has an annual revenue of DKK 29 billion ($4.6 billion) with air and sea freight as the main contributor. The purchase will also increase DSV’s presence in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It will also add 1.4 million square meters of warehousing capacity to DSV Solutions.

DSV Panalpina group chief executive Jens Bjørn Andersen said: “By adding the GIL network and competencies to our existing network, we improve our competitiveness across all three divisions: Air & Sea, Road and Solutions. This brings commercial synergies and cross-selling opportunities while at the same time providing our customers with an even higher service level and a one-stop-shop for logistics needs.”

The two organisations will be merged on a country-by-country process, which means that for customers and employees in many countries the coming period will be business as usual until the country-specific merger process is initiated.