DHL airfreight volumes decline as it turns away business to protect margins

Freight forwarder DHL Global Forwarding's decision to turn away airfreight business to protect profits in the first half of this year resulted in a decline in volumes. The Bonn-headquartered forwarder recorded a 7.2% year-on-year decline in airfreight exports during the second quarter to 530,000 tonnes, while the half-year result was down by 3.6% to 1m tonnes. Second-quarter...

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European airports record growth in H1 2015, but only just

European airports just managed to drag cargo volumes into positive growth for the first half of the year thanks to improved performance in June. Figures from the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe show that freight volumes for the first half of the year increased by 0.5% against a year earlier. The organisation was not too optimistic for...

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Swiss and Lufthansa to launch new cargo pricing structure

Swiss WorldCargo and Lufthansa Cargo are to launch a two component pricing structure - a net rate plus airfreight surcharge – to reflect the "volatility of external cost factors". A joint letter to customers states: “The new airfreight surcharge will be significantly lower compared to the combined fuel and security surcharges, which will be eliminated...

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Logistics sector losing the price war

  A large section of the logistics sector is losing the battle to implement planned price increases, coupled with an extremely low success rate when introducing new products and services. These are the results of the most recent Global Pricing Study*, based on responses from approximately 1,600 managers, conducted by the global strategy consulting firm Simon-Kucher...

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Brussels launches probe into FedEx’s proposed TNT takeover

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into FedEx’s proposed $4.8bn takeover of TNT Express over concerns the deal could reduce competition and push up prices. The Commission said it had concerns that on a number of European markets for international express and regular small package deliveries, the merged entity would face insufficient competitive...

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