Artificial intelligence (AI) is essential to making US customs brokerage more efficient and transparent, founder of the Raft intelligent logistics platform Nisarg Mehta told the Northern Border Customs Brokers Association (NBCBA) Fall Conference.
Brokers needed to shift from manual data entry to AI-driven solutions that automate the work and help them identify discrepancies in a timely way, Mehta remarked, adding: “Harnessing AI is not just about automation; it’s about elevating our ability to ensure compliance, bolster security, and refine customer service.”
Such a shift is embodied by new plans announced by the US Customs Border Protection is in fact re-engineering its customs system in just such a way, he continued.
The Automated Commercial Environment ACE 2.0 platform promises to re-imagine the international exchange of trade data, positioning the U.S. at the forefront of global customs modernization.
“By using AI and machine learning to quickly analyze and understand various customs documents, from certificates of origin to commercial invoices and packing lists, we not only enhance data quality and unearth real-time insights in a cost-effective manner but also ensure greater accuracy and operational agility as goods journey to the US border,” Mehta elaborated.
AI and digitalization will steer the industry towards modernization, ensuring better outcomes and underlining the importance of interoperable software solutions in this transformation.
(Pictured: Raft founder Nisarg with Megan Montgomery, executive vice president, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America; Lionel van der Walt, chief growth officer, Raft; Karen Damon, president, NBCBA; and JD Gonzalez, President, NCBFAA.)
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Cargo has appointed Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) as its US-wide cargo handling partner, adding Chicago O’Hare International Airport, in addition to New York JFK and Washington Dulles.
The carrier will have the use of two dedicated parking positions outside WFS’ cargo warehouse and the handling agent’s brand new facility, including temperature-controlled storage rooms with capacity for eight pallets.
Etihad Cargo says the expanded partnership with WFS will help it enhance its IATA CEIV-certified premium products, including PharmaLife for the transportation of pharmaceuticals, FreshForward for the transportation of perishables, LiveAnimals and SkyStables.
Etihad’s head of cargo operations and delivery, Thomas Schürmann, said: “Etihad Cargo’s network with WFS to encompass all three of the carrier’s US stations will enable the carrier to ensure Etihad Cargo’s robust quality standards are maintained throughout the cargo’s entire journey.”
Frank Clemente, WFS senior vice president cargo and express, added that WFS was introducing digital solutions for efficient dock management and landside operations, investing in auto-dimensioning equipment to improve accuracy, implementing IATA DG Autocheck for safer handling of dangerous goods and providing real-time warehouse progress monitoring. It is also introducing the Raft automated pallet storage system to optimize storage and retrieval efficiency.
Global Critical Logistics has appointed Deron Brown as its new executive vice president and president of US Automotive. In over 20 years he has held senior management roles, including at private jet provider NetJets, and as a founding partner of air charter specialist, Wheels Up.
Danish-owned shipping and airfreight giant AP Moller-Maersk has inaugurated a new 130,000sq ft import and export gateway near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It offers direct planeside recovery and immediate unit load device (ULD) transfers. It complements Maersk’s existing air cargo gateways, including Atlanta and Chicago that have opened in the last 12 months.
The new facility is just 15 miles from LAX and less than nine miles from the Port of Long Beach. The site is a US Customs bonded container freight station and a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) certified cargo screening facility (CCSF). It is also scheduled to attain Free Trade Zone status in 2024.
Maersk says the new facility will help cater for seasonal peaks or volume spikes for breakout product launches.
Rhenus Logistics is offering a reusable alternative to single-use wooden crating for cars being transported by air.Based in the Rhenus major global finished vehicle logistics hub in London, Heathrow, the Cartainer can be used for round trips or multiple-stop delivery of security sensitive prototypes to testing programmes, media events, trade shows or global product launches.
Measuring 605 cm (length) by 238 cm (width) by 240 cm (height), it can accommodate any passenger vehicle or two-axle, four-tyre single-unit vehicle, regardless of make or model.
IIAG Cargo is to launch a new route between London Gatwick and Accra from 29 October 29th, adding three services per week to its present daily service between London Heathrow and the Ghanaian capital. It will also resume pre-pandemic levels of services to South Africa, with 31 weekly flights from London and expanded capacity on the Heathrow-Cape Town route by replacing the present Boeing 777-200 with an A350 and Boeing 777-300.
The increased frequency of services to Ghana will help meet the growing demand of perishables out of the country, while the switch to an A350 and Boeing 777-300 widebody aircraft operating between London and Cape Town will more than double the current cargo capacity.
Chief sales and marketing officer, Camilo Garcia Cervera, said the move would not only improve connections between Africa and Europe but also to the US, where there is growing global demand for fresh produce.
Increasing shipper and forwarder confidence in a more stable global air cargo market led to a higher commitment to longer-term freight contracts in September, said Clive Data Services in its latest report, published on 4 October.
A drop in capacity and traditional month-over-month seasonality pushed volumes up +6%, according to the weekly performance data from the airfreight arm of analyst, Xeneta.
The number of shippers committing to airfreight contracts of over six months in the third quarter 2023 rose to 34% from 28% in the previous three months, Xeneta says, as the industry comes to terms with a new baseline for the general air cargo market.
Chief airfreight officer at Xeneta, Niall van de Wouw, said: “This is not a peak season, it is a sign that airlines, freight forwarders, and shippers are finding more common ground to enter longer-term agreements. … The general air cargo market is entering a new phase where parties are not expecting the market to go much higher or much lower
“We see more longer-term contracts being signed and this only happens when people feel more comfortable about the now and the foreseeable future. It is easier to make a commitment now than when the market is on a sharp downward or upward trajectory.”
The global general air cargo spot rate edged up +2% month-over-month to US$ 2.23 per kg in September, with the growth especially accelerating towards the end of the month. This upward trend continued in the week ending 1 October 2023 as the average global air cargo spot rate rose +10% from three weeks ago.
September air cargo volumes were on par with the same period last year but global air cargo capacity, on the other hand, grew at its slowest pace in the past 11 months. It ticked up +5% from a year ago, but adjusted down slightly compared to a month ago as passenger belly capacity began to be gradually eased out of the market as summer travels in the Northern hemisphere cooled down.
As capacity demand and supply continued to rebalance, the global dynamic load factor, which measures cargo load factor based on both volume and weight perspectives of cargo flown and capacity available, grew to 58% in September, up 2% pts from a month ago. However, the load factor stayed below last year’s level by 2% pts.
Air cargo spot rates on most top trade corridors headed north in September. With cargo rushing out of China ahead of the Golden Week holidays from 1 October, the China to Europe cargo spot rate grew +11% from a month ago to $3.19 per kg in September. Similarly, China to US spot rate rose +9% to $3.63 per kg month-over-month.
Southeast Asia to Europe and to the US spot rates grew considerably, by +22% month-over-month (to $2.29 per kg) and +16% (to $3.14 per kg) respectively. Within the region, Vietnam spot rates to Europe and the US rocketed +54% and +32% to $3.00 per kg and $3.70 per kg respectively. These higher growth ratios are partially due to rates growing from a low base and, on these trades, returning air cargo spot rates to the pre-pandemic levels seen earlier this year.
In contrast, the transatlantic market continued to decline. The air cargo spot rate fell to $1.73 per kg in September, down -3% from a month ago.
The advanced economies remained weak in September. In the US, the Fed’s favourite inflation indicator, core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) prices (excluding food and energy), rose only +0.1% month-over-month in August, the smallest growth since November 2020. However, the overall PCE ticked higher to +3.5% year-on-year in August, which is attributed to wage growth, rebound of commodity inflation, and surging crude oil prices. And it hints that the US economy remains overheated.
The Europe annual inflation rate cooled down to 5.2% in August, with the projected September ratio down further to 4.3%. The reading for the European manufacturing purchasing managers’ index in September of 43.4 continued to point to Europe zone manufacturing activities remaining in contraction.
Niall van de Wouw added: “The global air cargo market is still muted and has been flat at a global level now for three months in a row. September produced no surprises, with traditional seasonality pushing up demand over what we saw in August, and we would expect a similar trend in October with less capacity flying around.
“But in my conversations with shippers, forwarders, and airlines, I still hear very little hope of demand growth before Q3 2024 and for that to happen, we still need to see stronger consumer confidence and economic activity.”
Silk Way West Airlines has operated its inaugural Boeing 777F flight from Seattle to Baku, Azerbaijan. It is the first of seven similar aircraft that will be delivered over in the next seven years until 2030. It offers more payload and extended range, opening up new possibilities for connecting Baku with key global cargo hubs.
Airfreight trucker Sterling Transportation is expanding its LTL services to include lanes connecting Los Angeles to Dallas and Houston.
It has moved shipments to Florida from the West Coast for three decades and in the past few years, has added service from Texas into Florida and recently added westbound cargo from Florida into Texas.
Chief executive Keith Davis, said: “Dallas is becoming an important hub. In April we moved to a significantly bigger facility in that city with plans of expanding our services.”
Global Critical Logistics, whose brands include Rock-it Global, Dietl, Dynamic International, CARS, and Cosdel, has appointed Amanda Barlow as vice-president of risk management and business affairs. She was previously at Roanoke Insurance Group.
She will manage the group’s insurance and spearhead development of its global ATA Carnet programs. GCL group is the largest ATA Carnet user in the US. Rock-it Global was recently chosen by the US Council for International Business to pilot the digitized eATA Carnet program, which Barlow helped develop.
Barlow is also an Airforwarders Association director and chairs its Technology and Cybersecurity Committee and sits on the US Department of Commerce’s District Export Council of Southern California.
