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Cool new zone for Hong Kong’s e-commerce

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May 3, 2023

Cool new zone for Hong Kong’s e-commerce

Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services (Hacis), the value-added logistics arm of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl), has opened a new Cool Zone climate-controlled facility to cater for increasing volumes of perishable and temperature-sensitive e-commerce traffic. Hacis’ new Cool Zone – located within its E-commerce Fulfilment Centre – provides a total, climate-controlled handling solution for goods such as fresh fruit and chocolates, speeding up the handling process and avoiding the potential cost and delays of transferring goods to downtown facilities for processing, before delivery to the agent’s warehouse or the final customer. Cargo arriving in Hong Kong can be processed and delivered to local customers the same day.

It offers a handling area with temperatures down to 15°C, and is equipped with storage racks, and work tables for pick and pack and labelling. Cool Zone can integrate with agents’ own IT systems to feed direct status updates and stock information.

Hacis also provides storage for chilled, fresh and frozen commodities ranging from +25°C to -25°C.

The Cool Zone is directly linked to Hactl’s SuperTerminal 1 automated Box Storage System (BSS), enabling it to cater for loose cargo, while minimising transit times.

Early users of the facility have been importers of fruit, yoghurt, snowy mooncake and chocolates, with most traffic inbound from Asian counties. Typical shipments comprise 100 pieces weighing between 1 to 5 kilos each.

Chapman Freeborn appoints cargo leasing expert

Chris Lewis

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May 2, 2023

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Chapman Freeborn appoints cargo leasing expert

Chapman Freeborn has appointed Roy Linkner as vice president cargo ACMI leasing. He brings over 35 years of valuable industry expertise in passenger operations and commercial air cargo with companies including British Airways, Delta Airlines, Martinair, Southern Air and Airborne Global Solutions. In his new role, Linkner will work with Chapman Freeborn’s ACMI teams globally to develop the ACMI business with a focus on cargo.

Etihad flies freighters to Wuhan

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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May 2, 2023

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Etihad Cargo has added weekly freighter flights from its Abu Dhabi hub to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. The airline also operates five passenger flights to Shanghai, Beijing Daxing and Guangzhou each week. The flights to Wuhan, in Hubei Province in central China, also improve access to other destinations, including Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing, via SF Airlines’ road feeder service trucking network.

Qatar hounds illegal battery shippers

Chris Lewis

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April 28, 2023

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Qatar Airways Cargo has teamed up with ground handler Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals to offer detection dogs to sniff out hidden lithium batteries in air cargo.

The service is being provided by MSA Security. The dogs are specially-trained to detect specific odours, in loose, palletised or containerised cargo. In proving trials at Hactl, an MSA dog successfully detected packages containing lithium batteries in PCs, and a single power bank, located on pallets containing other general cargo.

Qatar Airways Cargo and Hactl are the first carrier and cargo handler in Hong Kong to utilise trained sniffer dogs for lithium battery detection. They say that X-ray detection alone cannot reliably identify lithium batteries, particularly for e-commerce shipments containing multiple types of product in small packages.

MSA dogs are trained at one of the company’s eleven canine training centres in the US, and housed locally in a dedicated kennel in Hong Kong. Further dogs are constantly being trained, and can be made available at short notice in the event of increased demand.

Hactl is already conducting trials with another major operator, and plans to offer the technical detection dog service option to all of its customer carriers.

Gebrüder Weiss opens in Miami

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2023

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Austrian forwarder Gebrüder Weiss has opened an air and sea freight office in Miami, Florida. The new location is close to the international airport and currently employs six, headed by Marcin Gonzalez.

Miami primarily handles imports from Asia for onward transport to South and Central America, as there are only a few direct routes from Asia.

Opening in Miami follows a move to a larger head office in Chicago and opening of another logistics warehouse. Gebrüder Weiss operates five warehouse locations in the US and employs 130 people in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, El Paso, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco as well as Miami.

Country manager Mark McCullough, said: “Miami is a central logistics hub for transports to and from Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.”

Airforwarders call for risk-based approach to screening

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2023

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Airforwarders call for risk-based approach to screening

Air cargo must align its security programs and push for a more risk-based approach to screening if it is to maintain secure supply chains, Airforwarders Association (AfA) chief, Brandon Fried, told an IATA panel at its World Cargo Symposium on 26 April.

He said that the industry must present a united front, despite the sometimes disparate goals across the various segments of the supply chain, to streamline regulations in order to help foster cost-effective trade, said Fried.

He added: “The more we align, the simpler our lives will become, but we need to continue to push for this alignment – that’s why AfA engages with other associations as well as global regulators at every opportunity to make sure our voice is heard.”

Fried highlighted a discord between global aviation security programs, citing IATA’s recently implemented Preloading Advance Cargo Information (PLACI) program in the EU, which mirrors the US Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program.

With regulatory demands set to increase over the next five years, Fried said he expects to see increasing focus on cybersecurity issues, as well as greater emphasis on employee background checks and more stringent minimum standards.

Despite these expected increases in regulation, Fried said the AfA will continue to push for a more ‘risk-based’ approach to air cargo security.

“Our industry has done a great job over the past 15 years since putting the 9/11 Commission Act in place, which has led to a ‘shorter leash’ regarding inspection, compliance, and enforcement – but we must continue to meet these high expectations to avoid facing greater challenges,” said Fried.

“We hope to see new and better screening technology approved, such as advanced CT X-ray, as well as the wider use of canines as an efficient and effective cargo screening method.”

AfA also hopes to see the widespread adoption of EU canine screening programs, he added, which are capable of screening larger cargo pieces.

AfA is also working with the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on a roadmap for security to help untrained and inexperienced regulatory policy makers to fully understand all the nuances of a complicated industry, he added. “We are pushing to better align all US cargo security programs, and encouraging the TSA to help promote the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) within the shipper community.”

AI will be automatic choice for future customs processing

Data & analysis

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2023

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AI will be automatic choice for future customs processing

Automating Customs operations will cut workflow times from days to minutes, Nisarg Mehta, chief technology officer of the Raft intelligent logistics platform told the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference. He explained to the gathering in Las Vegas on 26 April that smart data and AI will save days of manual processing, freeing up Customs brokers and agents to focus on customer support, compliance, and customer service. Challenges faced by Customs brokers, including repetitive tasks such as data entry, document processing, and risk assessment, can be alleviated through automation.

AI could also process unstructured data from sources such as commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, emails, and spreadsheets.

In some cases, it could avoid fines due to delays or lack of compliance with regulatory requirements, said Mehta.

Mehta added “It is important to stress that we are not looking to replace employees with automation, but ease their workflows so they can focus on what is more important in their day-to-day operations.”

Turkish ties up with Avianca and DHL

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2023

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Turkish ties up with Avianca Turkish Cargo has signed a memorandum of understanding with Latin American carrier Avianca Cargo. They will explore potential cooperation opportunities and strengthening air cargo connections including possible freighter capacity agreements. Turkish Cargo will also be able to offer enhanced access to destinations in South America using Avianca Cargo’s network while Avianca Cargo will increase its access to major destinations worldwide through Turkish Cargo.

Turkish Cargo has signed an MOU with DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group. It aims to improve operational efficiency and enhance Istanbul Airport’s potential as global logistics hub. DHL Global Forwarding will use Turkish Cargo’s SmartIST cargo facility at the recently opened Istanbul Airport, as one of its global hubs.

Cook in the driving seat at Chapman Freeborn

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2023

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Cook in the driving seat at Chapman Freeborn

Aircraft charter company Chapman Freeborn, part of Avia Solutions Group, has appointed Russell Cook as industry vertical director – automotive.

In a career in freight forwarding for over 30 years, 20 of which have been spent looking after automotive clients, his previous roles included Emery Worldwide, UPS and DB Schenker. He also co-founded a fintech startup.

In his new role, Cook will engage with Chapman Freeborn’s automotive clients globally, assist with their supply chains and work with freight forwarders.

“The automotive vertical at Chapman Freeborn is a specialist area of service delivery and I am delighted to provide this unique opportunity and value proposition to our clients”, Cook said.

“I look forward to utilising my two decades of insight and expertise on global automotive supply chains to provide structure to the vertical and engage with clients, new and existing, across the world. In the coming weeks and months I will recruit a successful global team to help achieve my goals for the department and those of the wider business.”

Mark Faulkner to lead Virgin Cargo commercial

Chris Lewis

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April 26, 2023

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Mark Faulkner to lead Virgin Cargo commercial

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has appointed Mark Faulkner as its new head of cargo commercial. Having begun his cargo career 19 years ago at DHL Aviation, subsequently moving to Cargolux, BA, and IAG before culminating as director West, cargo commercial at Etihad Cargo, his background includes revenue management to network and alliances, spanning across the commercial spectrum, as well as being key to several major projects. In his new role, he will lead commercial activity of the cargo division, including revenue management, strategy and planning, business insights, and network and alliances.

He said: “With a post Covid norm now established, I’m looking forward to using my skills and experience to assist the business in ensuring Virgin Atlantic Cargo is at the forefront of this new market, whilst we continue to put our customers and people first, showing our presence and character, and driving innovation by breaking the norms.”

Managing director, Virgin Atlantic Cargo,Phil Wardlaw, commented: “He has an incredible wealth of experience, which will see him focus on optimising and developing our cargo network as well as being involved in the business’s key focus of advancing our digital and technology offering and improving the customer experience, within the company.”