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Suggestions that Apple block-booked
air capacity out of China to expedite the shipment of the iPhone 6 and
prevent counter-product launches by competitors illustrate just what an
important strategic tool (as well the means of reaching market) air freight
has become for the world’s largest electronics providers.
Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book,
Samsung, its major rival in most electronics markets, now appears to be
taking steps to secure its own long-term access to global markets from
plants in Vietnam, which is now becoming a viable alternative for electronics
OEMs keen to diversify production away from China.
Samsung has now reportedly requested its
own dedicated air cargo terminal at Noi Bai International Airport, located
near the capital Hanoi and conveniently close to Samsung’s factories
in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces.
Served by multiple freighters, Noi Bai has
struggled with congestion in the past. With some 50 percent of throughput
now reportedly generated by Samsung and its associated businesses and
the airport operating some 30 percent over-capacity, local reports said
the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam had deemed Samsung’s request
for its own new terminal “legitimate.”
Emphasizing Samsung’s heavy-hitter
status in the South East Asian country, state media reported that approval
was granted within days of the request and the company is now expected
to take over a new terminal built by ALS Port Terminal Co., which is due
to open this year.
Samsung’s throughput via the airport
is due to rise from around 80,000 tons per annum last year to over 130,000
tons in 2014, and then grow a further 20-30 percent per annum thereafter,
according to local reports. Indeed, the same reports claim the South Korean
electronic giant’s exports now account for 10 percent of Vietnam’s
total export turnover and 90 percent of the exports generated by foreign-owned
enterprises.
When approached by FlyingTypers,
Samsung would not confirm or deny the figures or its plans to route its
exports through a dedicated terminal.
Granting Samsung its request for its own
terminal would, however, make sense for Vietnam, which is determined to
attract more electronics companies to its enterprise zones and industrial
parks. This is part of a national policy designed to move the country
up the manufacturing value chain by offering a range of tax and other
incentives, which is so far proceeding with no little success.
Samsung is soon set to become a major player
in the industrial regions around Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam’s south,
where it is slated to build a new $1bn electronics factory. Microsoft
is reportedly set to relocate its Nokia phone production lines from China
into southern Vietnam. LG has built a $1.5bn factory in Hai Phong. Apple
is also rumored to be looking at options in Vietnam. All of this is expected
to prompt rapid increases in demand for cargo services at Vietnam’s
airports if more capacity can be added.
Air freight already represents 25 percent
of Vietnam’s trade by value—around $29 billion. With phones
and phone parts now overtaking textiles and apparel as the country’s
biggest export earner, IATA believes that with more investment in aviation,
the Vietnamese government will jump-start an economy that currently ranks
just 82nd in the Infrastructure Index of the World Economic Forum’s
Global Competitiveness Index.
“Vietnam is a dynamic and rapidly
growing aviation market,” said IATA’s Director General and
CEO Tony Tyler. “The successful development of aviation will pay
big dividends to the Vietnamese economy. It must be treated as a strategic
asset and handled correctly.”
Vietnam’s government is now addressing
its poor performance via an aviation master plan, with the target of having
26 airports operational by 2020. Expansion programs are underway at Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh airports, with the new Long Thanh International Airport
due to be ready by 2020.
IATA claims adopting the latest e-freight
stems could vastly improve the industry’s efficiency. “A key
step to implementing e-freight is the adoption of the e-Air Waybill,”
said Tyler. “While Vietnam Airlines has been able to use e-AWB for
domestic freight, it is unable to do so internationally as Vietnam has
yet to ratify the Montreal Convention 99. I urge Vietnam to ratify MC99
quickly so that greater efficiencies can be achieved in Vietnam’s
air cargo sector.”
SkyKing |
