Into & Out of Africa: Links to China are rewriting the rules of African airfreight

Mere hours after being offloaded from an inbound flight originating at Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport (CAN), a case of cell phones has already been processed through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s (NBO) new express center. They now sit at the edge of an off-airport warehouse, waiting for pickup to continue their journey over land. In the […]

• Molly Thompson
• October 3, 2018

MallforAfrica adds Chinese vendors to e-commerce platform

African shopping platform MallforAfrica – which sources “billions of items” from United States and United Kingdom-based retailers – has opened a warehouse in China and will now make Chinese products available through its online shopping app, connecting African consumers to the Chinese e-commerce market. Once goods are purchased, customer orders are fulfilled from MallforAfrica warehouses […]

• Nina Chamlou
• September 18, 2018

Kerry Logistics adds subsidiary in Pakistan under Belt-Road initiative

Today, Hong Kong-based 3PL Kerry Logistics said it will expand its forwarding network to include Pakistan with a new subsidiary company, in a move that will address demand for South Asian trade stimulated by the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). Kerry will offer block train and trucking services along the route, through Lanzhou Pacific Logistics, of […]

• Nina Chamlou
• September 10, 2018

Fashion Forward: How the promise of A.I. will disrupt the apparel industry

Picture this. You receive a calendar notification on your phone. It’s that networking event you RSVP’d to a few months back. Crap, it’s next week, you think to yourself. You had envisioned shaking hands with your future contacts while wearing a sharp blazer and a fresh pair of slacks and your old standby ensemble, which […]

• Nina Chamlou
• September 6, 2018

Kerry Logistics’ profits grow by double digits in H1 2018

Today, Hong-Kong based 3PL Kerry Logistics released its H1 2018 interim results, which show a 22 percent year-over-year increase in core net profit to about US$89 million. “Although the world economy experienced growth in H1 2018, global demand has been flat,” said William Ma, group managing director of Kerry Logistics. “Nevertheless, the China-U.S. trade dispute […]

• Nina Chamlou
• August 30, 2018

ASL Airlines launches first freighter flight to Europe from Urumqi

This morning at around 4:20 am, a 747-400F operated by ASL Airlines Belgium touched down at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport (URC). Two hours later, the widebody freighter took-off and headed back to Liège Airport (LGG), marking the commencement of the first all-cargo flight to Europe from the city in Western China. For the Belgian airport, […]

• Charles Kauffman
• August 24, 2018

China’s CAAC targeting private investment for 28 aviation projects

Yesterday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) published a list of 28 aviation projects seeking private investment. Ezhou Civil Airport and Air China Cargo were two familiar names on the project list, both of which are seeking billions of dollars in new investments. China National Aviation Holding Co., which owns a controlling stake in Beijing-based […]

• Charles Kauffman
• August 24, 2018

Singapore Airlines, Cainiao partner to expedite cross-border shipments

Today Hangzhou-based Cainiao Network Technology Co., Ltd., the smart logistics subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, inked a strategic partnership with Singapore Airlines to leverage the airline’s network to expedite cross-border e-commerce deliveries. The partnership represents one of a number of agreements between Singapore Airlines and Alibaba Group affiliates to cooperate on a number […]

• Charles Kauffman
• August 22, 2018

Yusen Logistics launches express import service in Guangzhou

Japan-based Yusen Logistics launched an express service for airfreight arriving in Guangzhou, China. Upon arrival at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), cargo will be collected from the airport terminal within six hours as a minimum lead-time, rather than the typical minimum of a full day to collect consolidated cargo at CAN. As part of its […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 20, 2018

The Malay Connection: Is Kuala Lumpur the next e-commerce gateway to China?

At an abandoned house on the outskirts of Georgetown in the Malaysian State of Penang, a man and his wife stand crouched over a box of seemingly random electronic components. Inside the carton is a set of specialized audio “tweeters” the pair plans to install throughout their dilapidated ancestral home in hopes of attracting a […]

• Charles Kauffman
• August 7, 2018

Cherries on top? Demand from China may overcome tariff concerns

The 25 percent tariff China slapped on several American exports, in retaliation for similar tariffs on Chinese goods, were expected to be bad news for the lucrative cherry crop in the Pacific Northwest. But, as editor Caryn Livingston wrote in sister publication Cargo Facts, the popular seasonal fruit seems to be moving well midway through its […]

• Randy Woods
• August 1, 2018

Changes in Latitude: Latin America’s economy reverses years of cargo stagnation

Ten pallets of papayas are sitting in an industrial-sized refrigerator in one of the cool-chain facilities at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport (GIG), awaiting the green light from customs to be loaded onto the belly of a Los Angeles-bound widebody. Upon arrival in LAX, the prized fruits will be offloaded and transferred to another aircraft, […]

• Nina Chamlou
• July 5, 2018

DHL adding e-commerce operation to existing Aussie facility

The increase in e-commerce exports from Australia has prompted DHL to add an e-commerce-specific distribution center to its already-existing 16,700-square-meter Melbourne cargo facility, operated by DHL’s Global Forwarding division. The co-located operation are situated in the Melbourne suburb of Tullamarine. The new addition, operated by DHL’s eCommerce division, will mostly handle exports up to 2 […]

• Randy Woods
• June 25, 2018

Alibaba plans massive 3-year expansion of Rural Taobao network

In an effort to cover more of the smaller towns across the vast expanses of Western China, Alibaba Group said it plans to widen the reach of its “Rural Taobao” project to include 1,000 counties and 150,000 villages across China in the next three years. Launched in 2014, Rural Taobao is the company’s program to […]

• Randy Woods
• June 22, 2018