MSC plan to cut CO2 Emission with Biofuels

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. has decided to start using biofuels in its vessel starting from Rotterdam,Netherlands.

With it successful trials with biofuel blends earlier this year MSC has now decided to use blended biofuel for its vessels .

MSC started with 10% blended biofuels thereby increasing it to 30% with successful trails thereby cutting CO2 emission by 15-20 % & improving air quality..

MSC is hopeful to increase use of blended biofuel in future thereby reducing CO2 norms by 80-90 %.
which they will communicate from time to time..

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Considering Uncertainity Air China is set to offload Majority Stake In Cargo Arm

Air China is planning to sell its major stake to Capital Holding considering uncertainties in international trade.
Capital Holding will own 51% stake of the airlines after $ 357m transaction is complete.
The remaining 49% will be owned by Cathay pacific.
 Capital Holding is a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned China National Aviation Holding Corporation (CNAHC), which is also a 53.5% shareholder of Air China.
Air China said: “Given the complex international trade situation and the expected weakening of Renminbi, the profitability has not been fundamentally improved. Due to the extended period of poor performance, there is still a large amount of losses to be covered.”
Air China gave two reasons for the selling of its freight-carrying subsidiary: “With the increase in the income of residents, the upgrade of consumption structure, and the increasingly close economic tie among regions, the air passenger transport business maintains stable growth while possessing huge market potential.
“Following the disposal of Air China Cargo, the Company will further concentrate its resources on the air passenger transport business to increase the competitiveness thereof while mitigating the impacts of intensified competition in the cargo transportation market and uncertainty of international trade situation on the Company’s business performance”.

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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 & Partners.
According to the results, logistics firms succeed with only 40% of their planned price increases. And almost 80% of the companies are experiencing higher price pressure compared to last year.
Logistics providers blame these poor results on “fierce competition” and on customers having more negotiating power. As a result, the percentage of logistics companies that only compete on price is twice as high as in other industries.
Dimitris Hiotis, partner at the London office of Simon-Kucher, comments: “The intense competition in the market has led logistics companies to focus negotiations on price; thus self-fulfilling a prophecy of low prices, which further intensifies competition.
“However, focusing instead on value and differentiating the product offering accordingly will allow logistics companies to trade-off value versus price and get the right price for the right product to the right customer."
Hiotis adds: “When a logistics company clearly differentiates their services and products, customers are able to trade off the price they are willing to pay against the level of service they value. This can be a win-win situation for both the logistics company and the customer.” 
Blame is quickly placed on the competitors, although the inability to raise prices is generally self-inflicted, says Philipp Biermann, partner at the Cologne office of Simon-Kucher: "Logistics firms often lack confidence and negotiation tactics.
“They are frequently at the mercy of their customers' professional purchasing departments. Recognising the value of your services, developing a negotiation strategy and turning this into an implementable price - logistics managers must get this into their heads”
The combination of external pressure and low confidence in their own performance has caused almost two-thirds of the respondents, to “suffer from price wars” says Simon-Kucher.
All of them, however, say that it was the competition who started it.
Explains Kornelia Reifenberg, senior director at the Bonn office of Simon-Kucher: "The phenomenon that companies make concessions to their customers in the heat of the moment that they actually cannot justify is very widespread in the logistics industry.
“In the process, they often don't see the signals that their dumping prices give to the competition. They don't grasp that these 'isolated cases' ultimately have a negative impact on the market price level."
When it comes to launching new products and services, the logistics industry has also been struggling: Only 18% of all new products achieve their profit targets, which is the lowest rate ever recorded  - with a benchmark of 28% in other industries.
* Approximately 1,600 participants, of which 39% are C-levels, from companies of all industries and over 40 countries across Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe, took part in summer 2014 in an online study conducted by Simon-Kucher.

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/forwarders/single-view/news/logistics-sector-losing-the-price-war.html  

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Sharp decline in load factors

Airfreight demand growth began to ease off in April, resulting in a “sharp” decline in load factors as they reached their lowest level for a year.
The latest IATA figures show that airfreight volumes increase by 3.3% year-on-year in April compared with growth of 4.3% for the first four months.
It said that the slowdown was mainly the result of a weakening in demand in Asia Pacific, where freight tonne km (FTK) increased by 4.5% in April against the year-to-date figure of 7.3%.
“The slowdown is consistent with a reversal in earlier gains in regional trade,” IATA said, adding: “Part of the recent decline in emerging Asia exports is reflecting economic weakness in Europe, which dampens demand for manufactured goods shipped by Asia Pacific carriers.”
One contact at a European logistics firm confirmed this assumption earlier today, saying the weaker Euro was having an effect on consumers' buying power.
Conversely, exports from Europe were increasing as goods manufactured on the continent became cheaper elsewhere.
“Results have been mixed,” IATA added. “Carriers in the Middle East continue to show strong growth, with a rise of 14.1% in April year-on-year, reflecting continued expansion in capacity and network, as well as robust trade with Middle Eastern economies.
“In Europe, by contrast, airfreight volumes carried by regional airlines fell 0.3% in April year-on-year.
“Recent improvements in business confidence in the Eurozone are yet to translate to increased demand for airfreight and consumer confidence remains subdued.” 
As a result of the growth slowdown and capacity increases, the association said load factors “dipped sharply in April” to 44.7%.
In March, the figure stood at 47.9% while in April last year, load factors stood at 45.4%.
“Levels are now the lowest they have been for the past year, on a seasonally adjusted basis. All regions except Africa recorded an increase in capacity in April compared to March.”
The region with the weakest load factor in April was Africa, at 30.9%, while Asia Pacific was the best preforming with 53.2%.
IATA was not confident of a major improvement in the year ahead, although it still expects there to be growth in 2015.
“Acceleration in the airfreight growth trend is unlikely in the near term. Globally, April data show no increase in business confidence compared to the start of the year.
“Furthermore, export orders have shown gradual decline throughout the first quarter, and are now indicating no growth.
“That said, for 2015 overall, moderate expansion in air freight is expected alongside anticipated improvements in the global economy.”

Source: IATA

























Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airlines/single-view/news/sharp-decline-in-load-factors.html

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FedEx takes axe to 15 freighters

US parcels and logistics giant FedEx has "permanently retired" 15 aircraft and 21 related engines as it continues to “rationalise capacity and modernise its aircraft fleet to more effectively serve FedEx Express customers”.
FedEx has taken a non-cash impairment charge of $246m recorded in May 2015 and has also adjusted the retirement schedule of an additional 23 airframes and 57 engines, with an associated $30m in cash charges.
In April this year, FedEx made a $4.8bn bid to acquire rival operator TNT Express of the Netherlands, with both sides reaching a conditional agreement on the deal, which is expected to receive regulatory approval in early 2016.
FedEx in a short statement on its investors website said: “These combined retirement changes will not have a material impact on near-term depreciation expense."
The permanent retirement of FedEx aircraft and related engines includes: seven MD11 airframes and 12 related engines; three A300 airframes and three related engines; four A310-300 airframes and three related engines; and one MD10-10 airframe and three related engines.
As of February this year, FedEx fleet totalled 673 aircraft, including 383 jet aircraft.
During the four quarters ended February, 2015, FedEx spent $3.15bn on 1.14bn gallons of jet fuel.
“The B767 provides similar capacity as the MD10, with improved reliability, an approximate 30% increase in fuel efficiency and a minimum of a 20% reduction in unit operating costs,” said FedEx.

Source :  http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airlines/express/single-view/news/fedex-takes-axe-to-15-freighters.html

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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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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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Thumbs up for Emirates' all-in freight rates

Shippers and forwarders have welcomed Emirates SkyCargo’s move to introduce an all-inclusive freight rate that does away with separate pricing components based on weight/volume plus fuel and security surcharges.
“It is the best start to 2015 that I could imagine,” said Joost van Doesburg, airfreight policy manager with the European Shippers’ Council, adding: “We can only be happy that the biggest air cargo carrier in the world has decided to make the system much simpler.”
Lucas Kuehner, global head of air freight at forwarder Panalpina said: “We welcome any simplification of the pricing structure and have long since asked airlines to rid themselves of surcharges.
“This is about going back to basics and what our customers want since they look at all-in cost when making freight decisions. So we appreciate Emirates’ step and encourage other carriers to do the same.”
Robert Keen, director general of The British International Freight Association (BIFA) welcomed the Dubai-based carrier’s move as "a step in the right direction, provided it leads to the transparency that freight forwarders require".
He added that he felt that the move should: "provide simpler and more transparent cost structures, something that freight forwarders have been calling for, having faced various surcharges with questionable names and purposes from shipping lines and airlines.
"Perhaps Emirates Skycargo is responding to previous comments that freight forwarders stop accepting at face value opaque and unjustified surcharges."
The new structure will be implemented in Europe from February, and for the rest of the Emirates worldwide network from March.
An Emirates SkyCargo spokesperson said: “For some time now, many of our customers have asked for the introduction of an all-inclusive rate structure.
“We have therefore decided to introduce a new rate structure which will be a combination of a weight related rate and the current fuel and security surcharge. We believe that this new structure will be simpler, and is a positive development in the way tariffs are applied”.
Van Doesburg warned: “If only one airline will push all-in rates in the market then it is not a success, so we need more airlines to follow the Emirates example.”
He added that the ending of surcharges was important because “it probably makes the air cargo market much more stable, with fewer fluctuations.”
Van Doesburg continued: “For the shippers it will make cost more predictable because, at the moment, they cannot tell their financial people what they need for the transport of a certain amount of goods. It will also bring comparability.
“The security and fuel surcharges are from the past and removing them is the way to go.  Why do you need to have a special surcharge for security, when that issue has been dominant for more than a decade?
"And as for fuel, the airlines should be able to determine their rates for a longer period of time with a fixed rate. That is what shippers want and what they already get from the integrators.”

Source :  http://www.aircargonews.net/news/single-view/news/thumbs-up-for-emirates-all-in-freight-rates.html

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Kerry Logistics boosts network

Asia-based Kerry Logistics has bought a controlling stake in Dubai’s Able Logistics Group and a majority stake in the sea and air arms of Canada’s Total Logistics Partner (TLP). Able Logistics is an international freight forwarder with offices across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and China.
Total Logistics Partner Ocean Consolidators and Total Logistics Partner Air Express are two freight forwarding companies focused on the Asia-Canada trade. The acquisition has added Montreal and Toronto to Kerry Logistics’ worldwide network.
William Ma, group managing director of Kerry Logistics said: “These two acquisitions complement our existing international freight forwarding network and marked further inroads in our international expansion. With the addition of TLP, Kerry Logistics now operates in four countries in the Americas, comprising US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
“The investment in Able Logistics Group forms an instrumental part of our long-term strategy to build a global network across six continents. It expands our capabilities in the Middle East and to connect globally through a round-the-clock transit hub linking Asia to Middle East, Europe and Africa.”  

Source : http://www.aircargonews.net/news/single-view/news/kerry-logistics-boosts-network.html

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11th Annual Sino International Freight Forwarders Conference (4-7 November 2014)

The Sino-International Freight Forwarders Conference celebrates its 11th anniversary, and the 2014 event opens up even greater opportunities for delegates as it moves to Guangzhou — the most important manufacturing city in southern China and situated at the heart of the Pearl River Delta.

Open to all independent freight forwarders from around the globe, as well as an impressive range of logistics vendors and industry-related companies, the Sino-International Conference is the largest and most influential fully-open networking event in the world.

Co-organised by China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA) and WCA, the conference is scheduled to attract over 1,000 freight forwarders, all dedicated to creating new mutually beneficial partnerships and securing millions of dollars of new business.

Located at the luxurious 5-star Shangri-La Hotel, strategically located at the center of Guangzhou's new business and convention district, delegates can take advantage of the wide range of hotel options to suit all budgets and enjoy the many restaurants and bars overlooking the famous Pearl River.

The Sino Conference has time and again proved to be the most cost-efficient and beneficial event in the logistics industry. Face-to-face meetings are most productive way for independent forwarders to expand into new markets form vital new partnerships .

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