FT090616

#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

Vol. 15 No. 68	Tuesday September 6, 2016

Word Up From Zhao Huxiang      Mr. Zhao Huxiang is Chairman of Beijing-based SINOTRANS, a company that employs 50,000 people.
     He is also President of FIATA.
“The 55th FIATA World Congress takes place in the Convention Center in Dublin, Ireland, from October 3-8,” Mr. Zhao said.
     “Hosted by The Irish International Freight Association (IIFA), everyone is invited to a program that promises an inspiring mix of engaging speakers and collaboration-based workshops, exploring new trends in global logistics, best practices, trading opportunities, and technological innovations,” Mr. Zhao said.
     For more click here.
Geoffrey

Lufthansa Cautiously Optimistic

  New product launches and restocking could see rising demand on key trunk lanes out of Asia in the coming months.
     A spokesman for Lufthansa Cargo said the carrier had seen “stable to slightly increasing demand in mainland China and HK” in recent weeks and that more gains could follow as the year progressed. “September is traditionally a month where new products stimulate demand from the High Tech sector and we expect this development this year again,” he said. “The same is true for the garment sector where seasonal demand increases are expected.”
      Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is also expecting a number of major product launches to boost demand in the coming months. “There is an underlying expectation that 2016 will be a big year for tech launches, particularly in the virtual reality, drone and robotic technology space,” said a spokesman. “Not to mention new smartphone developments at players like Apple and Google.”
      Some of the new product launches planned for the last quarter of 2016 are the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset by Facebook, Sony Playstation VR headsets for PS4 consoles, GoPro’s Karma Drone, and Microsoft’s HoloLens Augmented Reality glasses, although the latest indicators suggest the latter will now probably be delayed until early 2017.
      Unconfirmed launches could also include a rumored new Surface Phone plus upgrades of Apple Watch and iPhone 7 models.
      “Just like monetary policy announcements tend to influence the stock market, new product launches have a way of boosting confidence levels and demand in the freight industry,” added the Air France KLM Martinair Cargo spokesman.
      “Should some or any of the above product launches materialize as expected, one should see demand peaks mid-October through November 2016. Apple kick-starts the ‘New Product Launch Season’ this September and one already sees Apple product and accessory shipments going out of China and Hong Kong.”
      Shanghai Pudong Int’l Airport Cargo Terminal Co., Ltd (Pactl), a JV between Shanghai Airport Group Lufthansa Cargo and JHJ Logistics Management, saw volume growth of 2 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of the year. Spokesman Lutz Grzegorz predicted that new product launches would boost the market out of China later this year and, although it was unclear at this stage how much freight would be exported from PVG, he said the hub could also benefit from inbound supply chain movements via PVG prior to export from other hubs.
      “My personal opinion is that in general the years of real peak season is over,” he added. “Having said this, I still expect an increase of 3-5 percent over last year for PVG. Considering that the previous year was outstanding, this would be an excellent result.”
      Li Wenjun, Head and SVP, Air Freight, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, told FlyingTypers that volumes out of China had trended upwards in July and August by some 3-5 percent. “We anticipate the demand to continue until mid-November this year,” he added. “The increasing demand for airfreight out of China is largely driven by growing exports in the lead-up to the year-end peak season. In addition, we are expecting new products and new technology to be launched in September and October, and this is contributing to the rising airfreight demand especially to the Americas.“
      Wenjun said China and Hong Kong would continue to be the main exporting centers as demand increased. “For the rest of Asia, their export demand will stay relatively stable and demand is expected to start picking up in early October for export from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan due to capacities taken up by China that transit through these hubs into America,” he explained.
      “Vietnam’s airfreight volume will definitely grow as it is now an important manufacturing country for both Technology/Telecommunication products and the Fashion/Garment industry.”
Alexis von Hoensbroech       The Lufthansa spokesman also said that in the coming weeks and months the outlook for China and the rest of Asia was cautiously positive, adding that the usual upswing in Q4 when the holiday season peak traditionally gives markets a boost was expected to further accelerate demand.
      He said the carrier’s new td.basic product would help attract more cargo to Lufthansa in a price sensitive market. Aimed at shippers happy to accept slightly longer transit times and available online starting in September, td.basic is a simplified versions of the carrier’s td.Pro product. “We are now adding a price offensive to our long-standing quality offensive”, said Dr. Alexis von Hoensbroech, Board Member Product and Sales at Lufthansa Cargo.
      “Our customers will be able to benefit from Lufthansa quality with particularly price-sensitive cargo. With this innovative basic offering, we are enhancing our product range and charting a path for growth in the standard cargo segment
      The Lufthansa spokesman added that the market remained highly competitive and predicted pressure on yields would remain despite the anticipated increase in demand in the coming months.
      “At Lufthansa Cargo we hope—and are confident—that we will gain some growth with our new product td.basic, which offers very attractive rates,” he added.
SkyKing

de Juniac Calls For Cooperation
     From the top post at Air France KLM—which, by any measure, was no walk in the park—to Director General and CEO of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac will now succeed Tony Tyler, who served as IATA DG and CEO.
      “I am excited to be taking on this great responsibility. IATA plays a critical role in facilitating safe, efficient, and sustainable global air transport,” Mr. De Juniac said.
      “IATA’s mission is to represent, lead, and serve the airline industry with global standards,” he added.
      “That means we must use change as a catalyst for innovation to please customers and contribute positively to the business of our members.
      “The numbers are clear. Air transport supports an impressive 63 million jobs and some $2.7 trillion in economic activity.
      “Aviation changes our world for the better.
      “As the industry’s global advocate, my mission is to rally our partners to ensure tat nothing impedes the business of freedom,” said de Juniac.
Geoffrey

Why Disruption Doesn't Necessarily Mean Destruction

   A recent FlyingTypers article profiling Freightos noted some valid points about technology and logistics. Here at Freightos, we're the first to recognize the complexity of the trillion-dollar freight industry. And, as noted, "there is no magical digital solution."
   But a lack of a magical solution does not mean that there is no solution.
   Technology put a man on the moon, made global markets accessible, and can (almost) drive cars better than humans can. The true solution to the industry's significant challenges—dropping profitability, dead space, and inefficiencies—must incorporate technology as a central aspect. That needs to be a collaboration between technology companies and logistics companies, not drawing sides.
   Every year, over $19 trillion dollars of goods are shipped globally, much of it by forwarders who are conducting the world’s most complicated orchestra. Freightos has an incredible amount of respect for logistics providers. Which is why when we set out to change the industry, we did so by teaming up with forwarders. By providing in-house freight rate management technology enabling instant freight pricing and routing, we helped generate over 4,000,000 instant freight quotes for a thousand different forwarders. Only by working together to develop this expertise, could we launch our online marketplace in a way that benefits both forwarders and shippers.

Buys WebCargoNet
    Freightos purchased WebCargoNet for an undisclosed sum.
    “The acquisition,” Freightos said, “creates the world’s largest online freight rate database.
    “Freightos now enables any company—from SMEs importing goods infrequently to mass retailers that need to import a small shipment quickly—the ability to conduct business online with ease.”

   Make no mistake, Freightos does want to change the industry. It takes shippers an average of 90 hours to get a spot quote. About $700 million dollars are wasted every year on invoice errors. Slow responses, manual processes, and lack of automation hurt carriers and forwarders as much as they hurt the shippers they're servicing.
   But disruption doesn't mean destruction.
   Unlike other platforms, Freightos is not disintermediating forwarders. We're helping forwarders automate internal operations so they can focus on landing new customers and providing outstanding service, instead of wasting time on manual data entry and cold calling.
   Like it or not, the industry is changing. Tech-enabled forwarders, like iContainers, leverage better processes to beat out traditional counterparts. Enterprise forwarders are increasing online sales activity, best typified by K+N's FreightNet. Carriers, like Delta and Lufthansa, are continuing their quest for direct-to-shipper quoting. And tech giant companies like Amazon and Uber are moving ahead with plans to increase logistics market share.
   Forwarders that work manually and slowly adding cost and delay may be casualties of this increased efficiency. Shippers want better service and, one way or another, they will get it. But the forwarders that provide value, leveraging experience, reliability, and new technology to help shippers, in an efficient way, will only benefit.
   Technology and freight are both vital components for industry disruption. According to Phil von Mecklenburg-Blumenthal, a Freightos director who was previously a DB Schenker executive, “only those willing to innovate, and who have the management skills to do it well, will survive.” Leaders in the freight industry need to get onboard with disrupting the industry themselves. Working together with technology platforms like Freightos is the best way to do that.
Zvi Schreiber

JFK All The Way—… from left in back row: Ralph Pinto, Ajay Donde. Front row from left: Daniela Parvu, Lorena Ling, Dominic Cruz, Susana Li, and Swati Parikh. Dominic Cruz makes a good-natured joke about the recent farewell “Good Riddance party for Ajay, who has moved to Houston.

   In New York, EMO Trans Freeport serves as the company’s headquarters, and EMO Baldwin is its central accounting facility.
      But the real action occurs at EMO’s JFK International Airport office, which serves as the freight forwarding branch for the important NY/NJ marketplace.
      EMO Branch Manager Dominic Cruz noted:
      “We serve as one of the air export gateways for our Mixed Pallet Program to India and the Middle East.
      “JFK is also a gateway to Israel, working with our partner for shipments up and down the Eastern Seaboard,” Dominic declared.
      EMO JFK also serves clients in a diverse array of industries such as precision machinery, cosmetics, dental equipment, computer peripherals, cabinetmaking, and luxury retail store designs.
      “A key ingredient to our customer base is the loyalty and relationships we have cultivated over the years,” Dominic noted. “Despite the competitive landscape, our base customers have remained with us and value our services!”
      Ever positive, Dominic sees several opportunities for the office to continue to grow and evolve.
      “As the world gets smaller due to improving technology, the opportunities for smaller and mid-size companies to compete in global trade will increase.
      “Also, companies are developing a better understanding of the importance of logistic efficiencies as they rely more on their logistics provider to navigate them through the challenges and help them realize their dreams,” he says.
      “Because EMO already has a recognizable name that exudes reliability and dependability, I believe that our ability to offer 3PL services with a robust WMS system is a great opportunity.”
Geoffrey

If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers Access complete issue by clicking on issue icon or Access specific articles by clicking on article title
Vol. 15 No. 65 Want Pop? Who You Gonna Call? Any Sign Of A Bailout Chuckles For August 25, 2016 Vital Views Part 2 Barry Hansen Yesterday & Today Emery Pioneered USA Freight Forwarding	Vol. 15 No. 66 Uptick Challenged By Yields Picture For A Tuesday Afternoon Chuckles For August 30, 2016 Why Express America Climbed ACIA Summit	Vol. 15 No. 67 Turkish Cargo Steps Out In September Must To Attend Events Chuckles For September 1, 2016 A Saphir Solution For Logistics Transforming August At EMO Our Man In Cuba

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