US air cargo screening company Global K9 Protection Group is to acquire UK canine screener, Dog Detectives. Based near Chester, Dog Detectives was founded by David Jones 24 years ago. His son, Andrew Jones will become director at GK9PG.
GK9PG provides canine screening services in 660 facilities in 162 cities across the US and the Dog Detectives acquisition its step into the European market.
GK9PG chief operating officer, Roland Beason, said: “We are looking forward to working with Dog Detectives’ experienced staff, and leveraging their 25-year track record of providing excellent screening services. This acquisition kick-starts GK9PG’s international expansion plans, building on our strong presence across the US.”
Andrew Junes added: “GK9PG is one of the world’s largest canine screening providers and the acquisition agreement marks a new chapter for Dog Detectives,” said Jones. “Dog Detectives was founded by my father, David, and over the past 25 years, we have been proud to build it into the trusted operation it is today. By combining our expertise, we are well positioned to continue delivering effective screening solutions for the years to come.”
FedEx Corporation has opened an automated sorting facility at its Memphis World Hub. The LEED Certified building, which is now fully operational ahead of the holiday peak season, spans 1.3 million square feet across four levels, includes11 miles of conveyor belt, has dedicated space for bulky, non-conveyable shipments, and can sort 56,000 packages per hour.
Its technology includes six-sided scanning, which allows for packages to be scanned on all sides to capture size and barcode information for accuracy and includes new weighing and dimensioning systems and is equipped with 1,000 cameras to monitor the flow of packages.
It also allows packages to be sorted in one building during bad weather.
Memphis is the largest sort facility in the FedEx global network, with 13,000 team members, spanning 940 acres with 171 aircraft gates and 84 miles of conveyor belt.
American Airlines Cargo has relocated 16-year-old Bengal tiger Lucy from an Eco Park in Mendoza, Argentina to The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota. The former Mendoza Zoo is being turned into an Eco Park and its animal residents are being moved to sanctuaries where they can begin new lives with their peers.
Lucy’s journey began with a 750-mile truck ride covering from Mendoza to Ezeiza Airport (EZE) in Buenos Aires for the B787-8 flight to New York JFK. There followed a final 1,200-mile onward drive to Minnesota.
Everything was coordinated with Intermodal, the forwarder designated by the Mendoza Ministry of Energy and Environment, and American Airlines Cargo.
The Wildcat Sanctuary provides a natural habitat for wild cats in need of a home and has already accepted two lions from Mendoza in 2018.
The process of arranging Lucy’s transport involved three years of securing permits, navigating ever-tightening jurisdictions, and securing funding. Tragically, during this time, her companion tiger Violeta passed away, making staff even more determined to get Lucy to Minnesota.
Not even zero growth in November and December could deflect the global air cargo market from landing a year of unexpected double-digit demand growth in 2024, says analyst Xeneta.
In its latest report, published on 31 October, it says that healthy volumes of +11% in October and spot rates up +19% year-on-year reflected the growing maturity and balance among buyers and sellers of air cargo capacity.
A year of constant, unexpected disruptions outside the industry’s control – which began with a growth forecast as per October 2023 of just +1-2% for full year 2024 – is now firmly on course to end on a high in terms of demand. Such conditions traditionally result in winners and losers, but lessons learned and applied by shippers, freight forwarders, and airlines “shows the industry at its best,” says chief airfreight officer, Niall van de Wouw.
He says: “The frequency and diversity of ‘storms’ coming the way of the air cargo industry in 2024 mean this year could have been quite messy, but the industry has found a way to navigate these challenges. This shows the prep work has paid off as well as the flexibility shown in the industry. We see more emphasis on maintaining relationships than squeezing every last dime of revenue.”
While October’s global air cargo spot rate remains high – averaging US$2.68 per kg and just a few cents below 2023’s peak season high – the growth momentum slowed down from +25% in September, due mostly to a high comparison base in October 2023. In terms of the month-on-month trend, October’s spot rate was relatively flat compared to September.
The elevated year-on-year growth spot rate was supported by continued double-digit growth (+11%) in global demand, measured in chargeable weight. In comparison, global cargo capacity supply edged up only 2% year-on-year.
This supply and demand imbalance pushed the dynamic load factor (Xeneta’s measurement of capacity utilisation based on volume and weight of cargo flown alongside available capacity ) up 4 percentage points to 63% in October. Dynamic load factor.
At corridor level, Europe to North America saw the largest month-on-month volume increase of +11%. The return leg also saw a +10% month-on-month increase as shippers and forwarders took precautionary measures to lessen the impact of the three-day dock strike at US East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. A quicker-than-expected resolution to this industrial action, however, saw the positive impact of the strike on air cargo volumes ebb away after reaching a peak in the week ending 20 October. Nonetheless, the rise in this corridor’s air cargo rates is likely to continue after airlines reduced cargo capacity at the end of the month to mark the start of winter schedules.
Capacity traditionally shifts to corridors generating higher revenues, which leads to a more balanced air cargo supply and demand. As a result, spot rates from Northeast Asia to North America, a top front-haul corridor, stayed relatively flat month-on-month – in part due to a cooling down after a September boost caused by extreme weather disruptions and China’s Golden Week holidays.
Similarly, the Northeast Asia to Europe market stayed flat compared to a month ago. Despite several cancelled passenger flights between Europe and China due to uncompetitive routings, the corridor’s air cargo capacity still rose due to increased freighter capacity. This influx of capacity contributed to a decline in backhaul spot rates both month-on-month and year-on-year.
Shifting capacity to Asia from the Americas market also triggered freight rate increases in secondary corridors. Spot rates ex South America to Europe and its return leg rose by high single digits or double-digits month-on-month.
Middle East and Central Asia to Europe spot rates ticked down -3% month-on-month. Contributing factors included the easing of civil unrest in Bangladesh and subsiding weather disruptions.
“What we are seeing in the air cargo market is a compliment to the increasing ability of shippers, freight forwarders, and airlines to manage disruptions and process these kinds of volumes without as much drama around spiralling rates. Over the long-term, this is better for everybody,” van de Wouw said.
“There is a maturity in the market which stems from airlines being better prepared this year as well as there being clearer rules in place between shippers and forwarders, and forwarders and airlines. This is good for relationships – and good for consumers. Rates are still elevated versus a year ago, but despite strong demand, rising load factor, and only a modest increase in supply, they are not going crazy. Lessons have been learned and people are looking for healthy, reasonable rates on both sides.
“This puts air cargo demand safely on course to report double-digit growth in 2024, and not even zero growth in November or December is going to disrupt this,” he added.
The next level of market maturity, he says, will be indexing between shippers and forwarders using a neutral third-party source to adjust rates through the duration of their contracts. “Indexing will benefit all parties and create confidence to enter long-term contracts. It is a natural next step in a market that is clearly seeing greater balance from better preparedness,” van de Wouw said.
IAG Cargo is promising an additional seven flights between Miami and London Heathrow each week – a two-fold increase – and a resumption of Miami/Dublin flights three times weekly, in its 2024-25 winter schedule.
In Latin America, there will be three more weekly flights between Heathrow and Sao Paulo and the same number on the route, along with six more services each week to Buenos Aires from Madrid and Barcelona as well as four more weekly rotations from Madrid to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
The carrier will also deliver a 5% increase in weekly rotations to Africa and the Middle East, including the return of the Heathrow/Jeddah route operating six times a week.
The winter schedule runs from the end of October 2024 until the end of March 2025.
Air cargo conglomerate Challenge Group has appointed Udi Sharon as chief executive of its Challenge Airlines arm in Israel. He will lead all company activities in the country and join the Group’s senior executive management team.
Australia’s largest airline and national carrier, Qantas Freight has joined the cargo.one platform. , Forwarders can book capacity for general cargo up to 10,000kg on flights from major US cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, and from London, UK, to destinations in Australia, New Zealand and other points in the region.
Air One is to expand its services into China, Japan and Malaysia after it won new flight approvals in Asia. Air One is the commercial sales partner of a growing network of airlines currently operating a combined fleet of 11 Boeing 747-400 freighters, offering capacity to charter brokers, freight forwarders and logistics providers.
This expansion follows successful operating licence applications by affiliate airline, British carrier, One Air from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for flights to major Chinese airports, including Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou. One Air has also secured Operator Approvals from Japan and Malaysia’s aviation authorities.
Since 2020, Air One has organised over 3,750 flights, including more than 1,400 originating in Hong Kong, where Air One will open a commercial office.
One Air added a nose-loading Boeing 747-400 freighter to its fleet in September, and plans to take delivery of two Boeing 777 freighters in 2025.
Air One chief commercial officer, Peter Scholten said: “This is a pivotal moment for Air One and ensures we continue to expand across Asia and beyond. The new regulatory approvals and fleet growth being delivered by the airlines we represent reinforce our ability to deliver exceptional service.”
FedEx contributed more than $85 billion in direct impact to the global economy in 2024, or around 0.1% of the world’s total net economic output said the carrier in its released its annual economic impact report, published on 29 October.
Produced in consultation with data an analysis firm Dun & Bradstreet (Nit measures what it terms the ‘FedEx Effect’ on accelerating the flow of goods and ideas that generate economic growth.
The company claims the most extensive transportation network in the world, serving more than 220 countries and territories and employs over 500,000 people at some 5,000 facilities, moving an average of 16 million packages per day.
FedEx adds that its indirect impact activity also helps drive production increases across industries, an estimated $39 billion in 2024.
FedEx Corporation president and chief executive Raj Subramaniam said: “At FedEx, we have a vision to make supply chains smarter for everyone by leveraging advanced data and technology to better serve our customers and their customers, thereby extending our reach and impact. The ‘FedEx Effect’ represents our relentless commitment to excellence, economic growth, and the communities where we live and work.”
Wouter Roels, president, FedEx Europe, added: “At FedEx we keep the world moving, and are very proud of the impact we have on economic activity across industries such as technology, energy, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.
“This is a particularly special year as we celebrate 25 years of our hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, the largest outside the US, which is a significant driver of local economic activity in the surrounding communities.”
FedEx said it had continued to improve its network in 2024, notably through the ongoing optimization of its surface network into a single transportation system. Other multi-year investments continued including the completion of a hub at Dubai World Central Airport and a secondary sort facility at Memphis International Airport. The company also added advanced sorting equipment to existing facilities and additional warehouse capacity.
It continues to invest in renewable energy to power its facilities, electrification of its pickup and delivery fleet, and carbon sequestration research to advance natural carbon capture solutions for adoption across the transportation industry.
It also connects small business customers with subject matter experts from FedEx and other industries through its ‘SME Connect’ platform.
FedEx Cares meanwhile promotes charitable giving, employee volunteer efforts, and in-kind shipping services around the world. In FY 2024, the company’s charitable contributions totalled more than $55 million to its direct partnerships with NGOs and non-profit organisations.
Lufthansa Cargo operated its first direct transpacific freighter flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles on Sunday October 27, operated by its AeroLogic joint venture subsidary. The aircraft had previously taken off from Frankfurt, Germany for Vietnam on Saturday, October 26. It then flew back from Los Angeles, arriving at the carrier’s home hub on Monday, October 28. Lufthansa Cargo chief executive, Ashwin Bhat, said: “This new freighter connection highlights our commitment to connecting economies by responding to the demand of the rapidly growing economy in Vietnam, which can now be seamlessly connected to the US even faster. This service reinforces our purpose of enabling global business, which is why we are continuously examining the possibilities of establishing new routes and growing in dynamic market environments.”
