DB Schenker to charter from Etihad for new US freighter service

DB Schenker has revealed it is chartering an aircraft from Etihad for its new weekly freighter service from China to the US.
The forwarder, through its JetCargo division, this week announced it had launched a freighter service travelling between Hong Kong, Chicago and Houston.
A company spokesperson told Air Cargo News it was a fully dedicated service using a Boeing 747-8 freighter chartered from Etihad.
The service will target the oil and gas, automotive and industrial sectors with freight moving from southeast China to the US southwest, Gulf of Mexico and northern Mexico.
As is the current trend, DB Schenker is offering three service options: first class, business class and economy, which have defined lead times and end-to-end tracking.
The company recently opened a 14,000sq m facility comprised of 11,500sq m of warehousing space, 2,500sq m of office space and a two hectare laydown yard in the Houston area.

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net

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Optimistic airfreight forwarders

European airfreight forwarders are expecting volumes to continue to increase over the coming two months.
The latest monthly Danske Bank forwarder index for expectations for the coming two months came in at 57 points, with any figure above 50 suggesting that participants expect volumes to grow over the period.
The April survey also shows an improvement on future expectations compared with the March survey, when the index stood at 54 points.
Current volumes are also ahead of where they were two months ago, with this index standing at 57 points, again suggesting an improvement over the period.
However, there has been a slight tailing off in growth levels as the index stood at 63 points in March.


Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/forwarders/single-view/news/optimistic-airfreight-forwarders.html

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Agility's airfreight yields boost Q1 performance

Improving airfreight yields have helped push logistics firm Agility to a 5 percent year-on-year improvement in profits during the first quarter of the year.
During the first quarter, the Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed company recorded a 1 percent improvement in revenues on last year to KD318.1m ($1.06bn), while net profit increased by 5 percent to KD11.8m.
Its Global Integrated Logistics division saw margins for the first quarter improve to 24 percent from 23 percent during the same period last year.
The improvement was driven by “continued growth in contract logistics in emerging markets, coupled with improved yields in the airfreight business”.
Agility chief executive Tarek Sultan said: “Although the global economy continues to be in stop and start mode, we are cautiously optimistic about our start to this year.
“We started out on a good note, driving margin expansion in GIL and revenue growth in our Infrastructure portfolio.
“GIL will continue to sharpen its strategic focus in terms of customers, markets, and products, as well as build capacity in its business through operational transformation and a commitment to strong execution.”
The company's full-year 2014 results also benefited from improved airfreight yields.

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/forwarders/single-view/news/agilitys-airfreight-yields-boost-q1-performance.html

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Vessels collide in same 2013 sea mishap spot

Talisay City, Cebu — A chief engineer was hurt when a fast craft collided with a cargo vessel late Wednesday afternoon at Lauis Ledge off Talisay City, the same spot where a passenger vessel and cargo ship collided two years ago, killing 116 passengers and crew.
The Lauis Ledge has become an eerie spot for vessels traveling from Cebu to Bohol and passengers on board fast craft Starcraft 9 went into panic when the sea craft collided with cargo vessel MV Our Lady of Faith at 5:50 p.m. last May 13.
Fortunately, all 262 passengers and crew of the Bohol-bound fast craft were unharmed, except for chief engineer Romeo Astillejo, who was thrown off into the sea during the collision.
Astillejo was rescued by fellow crewmen and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the collision damaged the fast craft’s right portion but Our Lady of Faith suffered no significant damage and her crew were safe.
The cargo ship, manned by Captain Jose Adaptar, was en route to Bacolod City from the port in the City of Naga while the fast craft, under Captain Roman Pialago, was bound for Tubigon, Bohol.
PCG Central Visayas District Chief-of-Staff Weniel Azcuna said the PCG is now questioning the captains and crew of the vessels.
He said there is a “need to monitor the traffic situation” in Lauis Ledge because it is the entry and exit point of vessels heading to or from Cebu.
Right in that same spot where the two vessels crashed last Wednesday is where passenger vessel St. Thomas Aquinas and cargo ship Sulpicio Express Siete collided on August 16, 2013. The mishap caused the death of 116 passengers and crew.
The Cebu Coast Guard earlier said a naval highway will be set up to guide vessels coming and going out of that part of Cebu, but this plan has yet to be realized.
Based on the plan, the PCG will set up a Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS) to monitor vessels using the Cebu Harbor Channel.
Just like a national highway, the VTMS will put up lighted buoys to guide entering and exiting vessels, especially in the Lauis Ledge.

Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/vessels-collide-in-same-2013-sea-mishap-spot/#VXiOgYMTwoOlMv5a.99

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NGA to cease operations at the end of May

Main-deck cargo airline Nordic Global Airlines will cease operations at the end of the month after overcapacity in the market took its toll on the operator.
NGA, which operates a fleet of four MD-11F freighters for customers, was launched in 2011 but faced continued pressure on pricing.
Finnair Cargo, which owned a 40% stake in the company, leased freighter capacity from NGA for its mainly Asian cargo traffic until the end of last year.
In a statement released to the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange last week, Finnair said the decision to close NGA was “unavoidable” because of  “overcapacity in the sector and depressed freight pricing”.
“NGA grew to fly main-deck cargo in four continents with its low-cost and thin-organization model,” it said.
Finnair, like others, is switching its focus to bellyhold capacity and discontinued separate operations at the end of last year.
At the time, it said the decision to end its MD-11F freighter service between Helsinki and Hong Kong and instead rely on daily bellyhold via an A340 passenger service was due to “deteriorating yields” caused by currency fluctuations and overcapacity.
NGA is also owned by Neff Capital Management, Daken Capital Partners and the mutual pension insurance company Ilmarinen.
In August last year, NGA chief executive and chairman Jim Neff announced the start-up of all cargo carrier Western Global Airlines utilising MD-11 freighters.
The company will begin operations with a fleet of MD-11Fs leased from Neff Air, an affiliated leasing company which owns ten GE powered MD-11Fs and two GE powered 747-400BCFs
NGA leased its four MD11Fs from Neff Air.
Neff was also the founder and chief executive of Southern Air from 1999 until 2010, when he sold the company and became a minority stakeholder.

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Damco sees $9m loss as airfreight dives

Damco, the troubled logistics arm of Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk (APMM), made a $9m loss in the first quarter of 2015 as its airfreight volumes fell 19%.
The division's total supply chain revenue fell nine percent, year on year, to $683m for the January to March 2015 period, of which eight percent was due to exchange rate movements.
Netherlands-based Damco saw controlled ocean freight volumes decline by two percent, as airfreight throughputs dived, with the latter due mainly to "project shipments in prior year which were not repeated in 2015," said APMM.
It added: "Restoring growth in the ocean and airfreight segments is a key focus area to improve overall Damco profitability."
The $9m first quarter loss was actually an improvement on like period 2014, when Damco made a loss of $10m.

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/forwarders/single-view/news/damco-sees-9m-loss-as-airfreight-dives.html

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Frankfurt freight disappoints

Frankfurt’s airport operator Fraport’s airfreight and airmail tonnage dropped by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to around 500,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015. However, the group as a whole recorded “noticeable growth” in revenue, which rose 10.8 per cent to €575.9 million.  Contributing factors included growth in traffic and fees, consolidation of two new subsidiaries and currency effects. 
Frankfurt Airport recorded a 2.7 per cent rise in passenger figures to 12.5 million in the first three months of 2015, despite strike and weather-related flight cancellations.
Cargo and passenger traffic at Fraport-owned airports other than Frankfurt also largely improved, said the company.

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airports/single-view/news/frankfurt-freight-disappoints.html

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