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Wanted: quicker and slicker airfreight

[ March 15, 2016   //   ]

Air cargo needs to prove its worth as a premium service, Global Shippers’ Forum secretary general Chris Welsh told the International Air Transport Association (IATA) World Cargo Symposium in Berlin on 15 March.

Speaking on ‘The Value of Air Cargo’, Chris Welsh said: “Against the backdrop of weak growth in international trade, shippers are looking for even greater value from the air cargo industry. While the industry enjoys traditional benefits of speed over other modes, it needs to ensure that it is worth the premium service cost versus ocean, road and rail.”
While air cargo remains vital to the globalised economy, the industry has lost its dominance and experienced lower yields in recent years.
Chris Welsh explained: “The air cargo product needs to be quicker and slicker in providing end-to-end services. Shippers are calling for door-to-door shipment time to be cut by a half. That means acceleration and implementation of e-commerce and enhanced communications in providing real-time track and trace systems. Customers need to know where their freight is at any point in time.
Amazon’s plans to save over US$1bn annually on its air freight bill by starting its ‘own account’ air freight operations is a wake-up call for the air cargo market that it needs to speed up, he added.

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