Shippers voice concerns to air cargo industry | Air Cargo World
Air Cargo World
Subscribe
  • News
  • Data & Tools
  • Events
    • Cargo Airport Growth Summit
    • Cargo Facts Symposium
    • Cargo Facts EMEA
    • Cargo Facts Asia
  • Multimedia
  • Magazine
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Airports
  • Carriers
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Logistics
  • E-Commerce
  • Freight Forwarders
  • Technology
Air Cargo World
  • News
  • Data & Tools
  • Events
    • Cargo Airport Growth Summit
    • Cargo Facts Symposium
    • Cargo Facts EMEA
    • Cargo Facts Asia
  • Multimedia
  • Magazine
Log In
No Result
View All Result
Air Cargo World
No Result
View All Result

Shippers voice concerns to air cargo industry

by
May 6, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3min read
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Pinterest
Panel-big.jpg

Shippers revealed the challenges of the air cargo industry in a panel Monday at the CNS Partnership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Des Vertannes, global head of cargo at the International Air Transport Association, moderated the panel. He said one issue is air cargo – the mode that shippers pay the most for – is often the least reliable.

Blake Bowlin, global transportation procurement manager at Caterpillar Enterprise System Group, said he compels all the forwarders that the company uses keep track of how much cargo Caterpillar puts on freighters vs. passenger aircraft.

But Bowlin said he worries whether the freighter market will go away.

“What I begin to worry about it is we move some rather large items that need to go on freighters,” he said.

Danny DuBose, supply chain management NAFTA at Continental Automotive Systems, said the primary initiative for improving the supply chain is transparency. When a product is in transit by air, the company sees a gap in visibility.

“We have to be extremely on top of what comes in on a daily basis,” DuBose said.

Vertannes said this is embarrassing for the air cargo industry.

The cool chain is especially important to Brian Miller, president of Gourmet Trading Company, and Alvaro Faret, president of ALFA Logistics, a forwarder specializing in perishables.

Quick airfreight is crucial for Miller. For example, he said for every hour asparagus is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it loses a day of shelf life.

But he said some customers try to push Gourmet Trading Company to use other transport modes, even at the cost of product integrity.

“There is pressure to take other avenues,” Miller said. “It should be airfreight. It should be.”

Faret said starting December, there was growth in airfreight in Chile due to the country’s blueberry crop – but the airplane capacity wasn’t sufficient.

Communication was another topic of discussion. PJ Moffet, consultant at Garrison Savannah LLC, said it’s important for him to speak with everyone in the supply chain, not just freight forwarders, in order to understand everyone’s challenges.

“I want to break that chain of ‘Why can’t I talk with that agency?’” Moffet said.

Communication was a pervasive issue. When Vertannes asked whether the panelists knew the industry is working on emissions standards, most were unaware of the initiative.

Most panelists did not think new advanced data regulations would delay air cargo in the supply chain, but Bowlin said he hasn’t heard many details about them. He said he must understand the regulations in order to inform his company of what lies ahead.

“Will there be other fees introduced into the marketplace?” he asks.

When Vertannes asked if traditional air cargo (discounting the integrators) showed any improvement in end-to-end transit time, Bowlin said Caterpillar’s process is more on the ground than with airlines.

“It’s that ground dwell time that kills us,” he said. “That ground portion is always going to be a challenge, and we need to shorten that.”

Moffet said it is frustrating that ground handlers take 6-8 hours to break down cargo.

“I feel it just takes a little too long,” he said.

And when it takes longer, there is no feedback, Moffet said. He doesn’t know if the cargo will be ready in one hour or three.

“It’s about speed and consistency every time,” Vertannes said.

For the final approximately 15 minutes of the panel, Vertannes gave a call to action for the air cargo industry to respond to shippers’ concerns.

“If these people are going to spend a premium price on airfreight,” he said, “let’s make sure they get premium service.”

Tags: cnsshippers
Previous Post

Lufthansa, Swiss reflect on freighter operations

Next Post

DHL relies on retail expansion in Africa

Related Posts

Cargo Traffic

AirCargo 2021: Airfreight capacity constraints likely to persist until 2023

January 27, 2021
Virgin Atlantic resumes China cargo service
Carriers

Virgin Atlantic launches UK-Norway service for seafood shipments

January 27, 2021
Facilities growing at Sea-Tac Airport
Carriers

Alaska Airlines commits to continue passenger freighter ops in Q1

January 26, 2021
Next Post

DHL relies on retail expansion in Africa

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Current Issue Magazine Cover

Sign Up Email List

FROM OUR CONTRIBUTORS

VALLEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Consultant Insight: FedEx nears closure of 5-year TNT integration

January 22, 2021
Semiconductor demand not met by supply chain

Consultant Insight: Semiconductor demand not met by supply chain

January 15, 2021
Trans-Atlantic airfreight capacity tight despite charters

Consultant Insight: US manufacturing begins 2021 on an optimistic note

January 8, 2021

SPONSORED

Delta Cargo introduces priority COVID-19 vaccine handling

Delta Cargo introduces priority COVID-19 vaccine handling

December 31, 2020
Executive Q&A with Manu Jacobs, Director of Specialty Products, United Cargo

Executive Q&A with Manu Jacobs, Director of Specialty Products, United Cargo

December 17, 2020
Executive Q&A with Jan Krems, President, United Cargo

Executive Q&A with Jan Krems, President, United Cargo

December 2, 2020
  • About Us
  • Help Center
  • Privacy Terms
  • ADA Compliance
  • Advertise

Follow Us

twitter twitter linkedin podcast

© 2021 Royal Media & Air Cargo World

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All News
    • Airports
    • Carriers
    • COVID-19 Vaccine Logistics
    • E-Commerce
    • Freight Forwarders
    • Technology
  • Data & Tools
  • Events
    • Cargo Airport Growth Summit
    • Cargo Facts Symposium
    • Cargo Facts EMEA
    • Cargo Facts Asia
  • Multimedia
  • Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Log In / Account

© 2021 Royal Media & Air Cargo World

Go to mobile version