|
The Cargo Letter
|
|
Our Top Story: American Rises |
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs
- Continued South ......... as U.S. Int'l air freight and express
traffic decreased 7.6% in July to 908 million revenue ton-miles, according
to statistics issued by the U.S. Air Transport Assn. The July decrease for
Int'l traffic compares with a fall of 11.6% in the volume of domestic
traffic. Int'l mail traffic was down 2% during the same period, to 39
million ton-miles. Total Int'l cargo traffic decreased 7.4% to 947 million
ton-miles. For the 1st 7 months of the year, Int'l freight & express
volume fell 2.3% to 6.4 billion ton-miles. International mail traffic rose
0.7% to 289 million ton-miles. Total Int'l cargo for the 7 month period was
6.7 billion ton-miles, down 2.1%. >> KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Aug.
cargo load factor fell 5.9% to 64.4%, blaming weak economic conditions in
Asia. Revenue cargo ton-kilometers declined 5% to 3.14 million. >>
Expect worse after events of Sept. 11.
- More For Less ........ as the Int'l Air Transport Association's (IATA)
Air Cargo Annual shows that, despite healthy cargo traffic growth during
2000, yields declined markedly in U.S. dollar terms. The Air Cargo Annual
uses the Cargo Account Settlement System (CASS) database covering 28
countries, to provide detailed analysis of air exports by destination city
& country. It also ranks the top 10 airports, agents & airlines from
those countries, enabling the effects of alliances, consolidations, new
routes & markets to be traced. CASS data shows an average yield of
US$1.37 per kilo for export tonnage in 2000, a fall of 4.9% on 1999.
European CASS exports fared particularly badly, the 2000 average of US$1.36
per kilo comparing unfavorably with the 1999 level of US$1.4 per kilo.
- More For More ........ as Integrated air carriers continue to
wrestle the U.S. air export market away from non-integrated carriers,
according to an annual study on Int'l air cargo trends conducted by the
Colography Group. The study found that integrated carriers, led by FedEx,
UPS, BAX Global, DHL, Emery & Airborne, controlled 51.5% of air export
revenue, 36.0% of air export tonnage and 69.9% of air export shipments, all
increases from 1999 levels. Non-integrated carriers, however, saw their air
export revenue fall 1.1% and their tonnage slide 1.8% from 1999. FedEx, the
air export market leader with a 37.5% share, saw its air exports shipments
grow 12% from 1999. UPS, which held 12.5% of the market, saw air export
traffic grow 8.5%. DHL was 3rd, with a 12.2% market share. The integrators'
growth comes from the companies extending their brands into foreign markets,
& export trends moving towards "smaller lots sizes at lighter
weights & tighter delivery windows," which favor the integrators,
said Ted Scherck, Pres. of the Colography Group. Scherck noted that the
integrators' revenue growth outpaced tonnage growth, due largely to the
impact of carrier-levied fuel surcharges. "In real terms, yields were
at best flat, if not slightly down," he said. In 2000, 91.4 million
shipments were exported by air, up 5.6% from 1999. Air export tonnage grew
only 0.9%, as the strong U.S. dollar offset improving Asian markets &
stability in Europe. China was the fastest-growing market for U.S. air
exports, up 28.1%, followed by South Korea with a 27.3% increase. Six of the
10 fastest growing U.S. export destinations were in Asia.
- Close Calls ....... as Federal safety officials want key members of
Congress to prod the FAA to work harder to reduce the number of planes,
vehicles & individuals entering runways by mistake. The National
Transportation Safety Board sent a letter to the dozen lawmakers who oversee
aviation, asking their help "in convincing the FAA of the need for
immediate action to prevent these potentially catastrophic events." In
May, shortly before the NTSB approved the latest list of its most wanted
safety improvements, an American Airlines jet taking off from DFW for ORD
narrowly cleared a small cargo plane that had accidentally turned onto the
same runway. On average, runway incursions happen more than once a day,
though the number is down from last year. Between Jan. 1 & Aug. 29, 268
incursions were reported, compared with 292 during the same period in 2000,
when a record 431 incursions were reported for the entire year. More than
once a week, on average, a collision is avoided only because a plane or a
vehicle quickly moves out of the way. Decreased volumes since Sept. 11 may
well solve a good percentage of this problem for the time being.
- Slimmer BA ......... as British Airways confirmed prior to Sept. 11
that it warned staff that it would cut about 1,800 jobs by the end of March
2002. Further reductions are expected to follow. After Sept. 11 -- the
number of jobs to be lost jumped to 7,000.
- Two Chinas ........ as a deal selling a stake in Shanghai-based
China Cargo Airlines to Taiwanese carrier China Airlines has been finalized
according to a report in the China Daily. It is reported that China Airlines
will pay China Eastern Airlines & the China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco)
for a 25% stake in China Cargo Airlines. The deal means China Eastern
Airlines will see its stake in China Cargo Airlines go down to 55%, while
Cosco will reduce its stake from 30% to 20%. The deal marks moves by China
Airlines to increase its presence in the mainland's air market while also
augmenting China Eastern' desires to increase the capital of China Cargo
Airlines to US$181.2M. The agreement has yet to be ratified by the relevant
authorities in both China & Taiwan, though no problems are expected.
This is the 1st time a Taiwanese carrier has managed to break into the
Chinese air market & could set an encouraging precedent for future
cross-straits trade relations. Industry insiders quoted as saying the move
may even lead to a direct air link between Taiwan & China. China Eastern
has also recently announced intentions to operate a cargo route between
China & Taiwan via Hong Kong.
- Three Chinas .......... as China Southern Airlines, the largest
airline in The People's Republic of China, is announcing that it has signed
a new ground handling agreement with China Northern Airlines & Xinjiang
Airlines -- one initial step forward in the proposed merger of the 3
carriers into the Southern Airlines Group.
- Polar Slotted ....... as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) has
tentatively selected Polar Air Cargo to provide all-cargo services to and
from Hong Kong. Under the plan, Polar will operate 3 weekly flights between
Hong Kong & Seoul with service continuing on to the U.S. Polar would be
the 1st US carrier to hold traffic rights for the Hong Kong-Seoul segment,
introducing U.S.-carrier competition in a market now exclusively served by
non-U.S. carriers. In 1996, DOT awarded 5 of the available round-trip
flights to FedEx for service between Hong Kong & Subic Bay in the
Philippines, and 3 to Air Micronesia for service between Hong Kong &
Manila. Air Micronesia subsequently ceased its service in the market, making
its 3 weekly flights available for reallocation.
- Just Say No To Ansett Airlines ........... as its operations were
grounded Sept. 14 in the latest in a string of developments affecting the
Australian carrier, including parent company Air New Zealand's cutting of
the airline's value from US$570M to $0.57. Qantas has also confirmed it has
no intentions of making a proposal to buy the airline from Air New Zealand,
despite the Australian government's encouragement to do so. Meanwhile, the
New Zealand government will consider taking a direct stake in Air New
Zealand if a proposed rescue package fails to save the ailing carrier.
- Bid Bye For India ....... as the saga surrounding the sale of Air
India to the private sector took a new turn with the announcement by
Singapore Airlines (SIA) of its intention to withdraw from the bidding
process due to what it calls political opposition. The Indian government is
currently trying to sell a 40% stake in its troubled flagship carrier but
has only managed to attract one serious offer. A bid by the India-based Tata
Group in conjunction with SIA had, up till now, been the only offer in
consideration. However, opposition from anti-privatization elements in the
Indian government and trade union movements have persuaded SIA to pull out
of the deal. The withdrawal of SIA means the Tata Group will have to quickly
find a new partner to keep its bid alive. By Indian law, the majority
ownership in Air India must be Indian.
- Federal Express Is Federal ......... as the air transport agreement
between the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) & FedEx Express has started
operations after a 9 week activation period of operations & systems
tests. The agreement gives USPS shared access to FedEx Express' air cargo
airline. The single contract with FedEx Express replaces a number of
dedicated contracts with multiple companies for transport of mail by air.
According to USPS, none of the former contracts - individually or as a whole
- could offer the scope, market reach, systems capabilities or financial
stability USPS now has with FedEx Express. USPS says it will pay about
US$6.3B over 7 years for shared access to the FedEx Express national air
transport network, saving about US$1B in air transportation costs. FedEx
Express will provide 443,000 cubic feet of cargo space on its air fleet by
day & carry 250,000 pounds of mail at night. USPS will use the day
network for the transportation of priority & 1st-class mail & will
use the night network for express mail.
- Everyone In Latin America May Go Postal ........ as Lanlogistics, a
subsidiary of LanChile SA & the U.S. Postal Service have created a new
partnership which will enhance trade in the Americas. Together, the
organizations will provide a fast shipping service from countries throughout
Latin America, Mexico & the Caribbean to final destinations in the US.
Shipments will be picked up by SkyNet Worldwide Express, a division of
LanLogistics -- then be flown to the U.S., where they will be delivered as
priority mail by the U.S. Postal Service. Delivery times are expected to be
as fast as 2 to 3 days for most shipments. Trade between the U.S. &
Latin America equals US$375B annually. More than 40 million shipments are
exported from Latin America into the U.S. each year.
- FedEx Corp. Says Ship Often ......... as smaller business customers
can save 10% on many express services by going online -- discounts to firms
that usually don't qualify for them. Customers can apply for the discount
through Nov. 30 by signing up for the FedEx Ship Manager program at the Web
site. The new program may improve volume for FedEx, which decreased 9%
during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. In Feb., FedEx raised the
rates for U.S. air express deliveries by 4.9% & increased rates for
overseas shipments an average of 2.9%. www.fedex.com.
- United Airlines Signs On .......... as it has agreed to become the
1st service provider for FreightMatrix, the online logistics subsidiary of
the i2 technology group. FreightMatrix, founded in 1999, aims to enable
freight forwarders, shippers & marketplace participants to plan
logistics activities & select service providers efficiently. www.FreightMatrix.com.
- Cargo Record ........ as Ukraine's Antonov aircraft company said on
Sept. 11 the world's biggest plane, the Antonov-225, had set a world record
for cargo lifting, flying with a cargo of 253.8 tons. The cargo had been
carried for 620 miles on a flight from Kiev to the Black Sea & back.
Previous record was set by an An-124 in 1985, when the plane carried 171.2
tons. The giant An-225, dubbed "Mriya" (Dream), is designed to
carry 250 tons of cargo. Its wingspan is 88.4 meters while its cargo bay is
43 meters long, 6.4 meters wide, & 4.4 meters deep. Indeed the only good
thing that happened on Sept. 11.
- False Papers .......... as Federal prosecutors charged 12 Miami
Int'l Airport workers with using phony immigration documents to obtain
security badges giving them access to restricted areas of the airport. The
workers, believed to be illegal immigrants from South America, were arrested
on Sept. 14 on criminal charges of making false statements on government
applications. The suspects worked at the Miami airport as passenger service
agents, air frame & power plant mechanics, construction workers, cargo
agents and custodian, U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis said. They face up to 10 years
in prison and fines of US$250,000 if convicted. Prosecutors said the charges
were unrelated to attacks on the World Trade Center.
- False Loyalty .......... as on Sept. 10, former employee at Los
Angeles Int'l Airport was sentenced to 5 years in prison for twice smuggling
firearms past security checkpoints. Lionel Rodriguez, 31, was accused of
smuggling 5 unloaded firearms, 4 fake hand grenades & several defused
explosives past security checkpoints in Nov. 1999. A month before, Rodriguez
had sneaked 5 guns past airport security, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean
A. Kawahara. "He was known as someone who could smuggle items &
other things aboard planes," Kawahara said. "Because of his
position at a duty-free shop, he had the means to get past security measures
others could not.''
Please click below for other sections:
Our Top Story: American Rises |
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
Written from wire stories, the Associated Press,
Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News Lloyds & other world sources.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]