Air Cargo

Shippers of trans-Pacific ocean freight trying to avoid crippling West Coast port congestion are turning to air cargo in such numbers that forwarders report prices going “through the roof.”

Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL booked higher third-quarter earnings as strong gains in international express and domestic parcel shipments offset shrunken margins at its global freight forwarding unit.

Combined growth among the 50 largest transportation and logistics companies worldwide slowed to a halt in 2013 amid global economic uncertainty. The combined revenue of the 50 companies slipped 0.1 percent after increasing 2.6 percent in 2012 and 8.4 percent in 2011.

Blue Dart Express, India’s leading air express and logistics services provider, reported relatively flat fiscal second-quarter net profit as a 24 percent rise in operating costs offset a 23.5 percent increase in operating revenue.

Transport Canada is proposing to allow shippers to screen their cargo before it reaches an airport, rather than solely relying on carriers to do so, in order to bridge security gaps and prevent terrorist attacks.

DHL has launched a new intra-Asia freighter flight connecting the economies of Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong as the global express services provider responds to increasing business within Southeast Asia.

Expedited airport-to-airport carrier Forward Air acquired Multi-Modal Trucking and Multi-Modal Services of Indianapolis, expanding its intermodal drayage and transloading services.

Growth in global air cargo accelerated in September, increasing 5.2 percent from a year ago. However, the market faces uncertainty because of faltering business confidence, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Cathay Pacific will launch a new freighter service to Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh later this month, strengthening its Asia-Pacific network on the back of industry data that shows airlines in the region growing by almost 6 percent in September compared to the same month last year.

A plan to move air freight facilities from John F. Kennedy International Airport to upstate New York likely won’t come without a fight.

IAG Cargo’s revenue declined nearly 8 percent in the third quarter as a reduction in British Airways freighter operations offset an improved performance at its Spanish partner Iberia.

Japan Airlines reported group net profit of 80.3 billion yen ($723 million), a drop of 2 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, despite a sharp rise in international cargo revenue.

ANA Holdings’ international cargo revenue surged more than 20 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, contributing to a big jump in the largest Japanese airline group’s net profit in the April-September period.

Lufthansa Cargo’s slim operating profit of 6 million euros ($7.6 million) in the third quarter, 20 percent higher than a year ago, maintained the carrier’s status as one of the few profitable scheduled air freight operators.

Chinese package delivery company S.F. Express was the fastest-growing global transportation company in 2013, increasing revenue 40.6 percent in a year when the 50 largest transport operators saw revenue go flat.

Air France-KLM’s troubled cargo business sank deeper into the red in the third quarter due to weaker demand and a two-week strike by pilots in September.

Air freight rates are on the rise heading into the peak season months of October and November, continuing a recent robust streak, Drewry Shipping Consultants says.

Steady growth in air freight demand was recorded by Asia’s airlines during September as the industry continued to benefit from rising international trade.

TNT Express suffered its first operating loss in five quarters due to a provision for a potential antitrust fine and restructuring costs.

Air cargo volumes will grow 4.1 percent annually through 2018, according to recently released forecast from the International Air Transport Association.

London – Amsterdam and London have closed the gap with Europe’s top freight airports as pilot strikes at Lufthansa and Air France shrunk cargo traffic at their Frankfurt and Paris hubs.

UPS will raise freight rates for air and ground packages, domestic and international shipments and less-than-truckload freight by 4.9 percent on average Dec. 29, the company said Monday.

Air cargo terminals in the Asian hubs of Shanghai and Hong Kong have reported another strong month, with the annual throughput shaping up to be the best in years.

Lufthansa Cargo said all its freighter flights will operate as scheduled as pilots began a 35-hour strike at midday that forced the parent airline to cancel 1,450 short- and medium-haul passenger flights.

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.

The air cargo market is improving based on evidence from a number of fronts — a situation that “we have not been able to talk about in years,” the investment firm BB&T said a report.

Lufthansa Cargo’s volume shrank 2.9 percent in September from a year ago, but the carrier cautiously anticipates a seasonal uptick in demand in the fourth quarter.

China’s e-commerce market continues to generate incredible year-over-year growth and huge amounts of hype, but AirBridgeCargo’s executive president Denis Ilin brought the discussion down to Earth at an Air Cargo Forum panel in Seoul this week.

Air France-KLM’s freight traffic slumped 17.7 percent in September from a year ago largely due to a two-week-long strike by pilots at the carrier’s French unit that is expected to plunge Europe’s largest air cargo business deeper into the red.

The air cargo industry is in a battle for survival and needs to urgently address fast evolving shipper demands, said Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo for the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

There is no significant loss of air cargo to ocean freight, said Atlas Air president and CCO Michael Steen, arguing against a widely held industry belief that shippers were shifting modes to save on transport costs.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a 48-hour strike on Wednesday and Thursday, but the German airline said it will have little impact on shippers.

Asia-North America and Europe-Asia will continue to be the dominant world air cargo markets with the most traffic volume, Boeing said in its biennial World Air Cargo Forecast delivered at the International Air Cargo Forum and Exhibition earlier today.

Smarter buying, modal shift and a less time-sensitive need from customers threatens to derail the recent recovery in air freight, leaving the industry with little time to sit back and enjoy its first peak season in years.

A Kansas court decision could influence 20 class action lawsuits claiming FedEx Ground drivers in the last decade were employees, not independent contractors.

U.S. shippers expect volume growth through their supply chains over the coming year to be less than previously forecast, but they are ready to fork over far more money to ship freight as rates for nearly all modes rise.

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.

Global air freight volumes continued their robust growth in August, spurred by Asia-Pacific cargo traffic that expanded 6.3 percent during the month, according to International Air Transport Association data.

European air freight shippers are facing fresh disruption today as a strike by Lufthansa pilots forced the cancellation of 50 long-haul flights to and from Frankfurt, Germany, the German carrier’s global cargo hub.