Günter Mosler died in Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday September 13, 2018. He was 84 years old.
     Günter once served as our first Chief European Editor.
     His articles and involvement as part of ACD–AirCargo Club Germany, an organization he help create, cast light on the activities of German air cargo worldwide. His elucidative coverage appeared in FlyingTypers from 2004 until his retirement in 2010.
     Günter was born in Ratibor, Germany (now Poland), in 1934, but moved to Frankfurt, finished school, and apprenticed in international forwarding with Rhenus.
     He worked as dispatcher for ships in the port of Maracaibo, Venezuela, and most major ports in the Caribbean, as well as on the Pacific Coast for H. L. Boulton & Co.
     Günter began in air cargo with Aerolineas Argentinas before joining Lufthansa for a seven-year stint with the carrier in Latin America.
     Mr. Mosler (Gümo) also later served as cargo manager Frankfurt for the German flag carrier.
     Gümo moved to the top cargo job in Europe for TWA, handling sales and services for the airline.
He served on the board of the Frankfurt-based Air Cargo Club Germany for 25 consecutive years.
He was also active with several other trade-related organizations.

The Man In The Hat

     Gümo was a great supporter of the air cargo industry.
     Standing about 6-foot-4 above the crowd, he was always impeccably dressed, his head topped with a variety of period and modern gentleman’s hats worn with great flourish and pride.
     Characteristically, Gümo parted with his great collection of 276 hats, helmets, and caps a few years ago. He never kept much for himself.
     Today that collection resides at the German Hat Museum in Lindenberg, a small town just outside Lake Konstanz.

Impacted My Life

     “This is sad news,” declared his friend Ingo Zimmer, Chief Executive Officer, ATC Aviation Services.
     “I had the pleasure to know Gümo for over 20 years and he was a real gentleman and one of the best hosts I will ever know.
     “I will never forget his kind invitations for brunch at his home.
     “In that most comfortable setting the top executives of air cargo gathered and conducted conversations at the table that no doubt impacted the air cargo industry in Germany and beyond.
     “I know that deeply affected me.
     “Gümo was really a special character and it's good that he created a book of memoirs, so we can read and remember.
     “He will be missed,” Ingo Zimmer said.

An Exceptional Professional

     Günter’s dear friend, the great Ralf Rainer Auslaender, Managing Director of leisure Cargo remembers:
     “Günter has checked in for his last flight.
     “Hard to believe, we spoke a short while ago contemplating sharing a good Italian lunch of his beloved gamberonis (shrimp) on the plate.
     “Günter supported us as a marketing- and media consultant in the “early days” of leisure Cargo.
     “I shall never forget our joint trips to the Dominican Republic; the photo shoot at Punta Cana Airport; the pineapple field visits and the get-together in Bangkok; our trips in Germany and the Portuguese sales meeting that served so well to project the leisure Cargo brand on the world stage,” Ralf recalled.
     “A solid and tall standing air cargo man has left the scene. Günter was an original and an exceptional professional.
     “My thoughts are with his family.”
     “I will truly miss him.”

A Real Character

     Our friend, Heide Enfield in Frankfurt remembers Günter.
     “It seemed that Günter had been around forever.
     “I actually knew him since I was a child, we used to live in the same house and I went to school with his sons.
     “Günter was a real character with an interesting personality and he loved being in the center of the air cargo industry.
     “May he rest in peace.”

Last Conversation

     When I spoke to Gümo last November, he was very upbeat.
     “My hat collection is once again expanding,” Gümo said.
     “I can’t help it, and now count 19 hats already,“ he laughed.
     “Frankfurt is still my kind of town.
     “All the wonderful people and the great airport remain close to my heart.”
     “I utilize the electric wheelchair for long distances, but at home for shorter distances, I walk,” Gümo said.
     Bravo, Günter Mosler, you were one of a kind and will always be with us.
     God Bless and Happy Landings, always.
Geoffrey/Flossie

     Air freight rates made some gains in early September and there are now signs of a build-up to peak season, on transpacific lanes at least.
     TAC Index recorded a 5.23% week-on-week increase in rates from Hong Kong to the U.S. on 10 September, with demand thought to be buoyed by shippers bringing in cargo ahead of a further of $200billion of tariffs expected to be imposed imminently by the U.S. on Chinese imports.

PVG Rates Dip

     Rates from PVG to Europe were down 3.21% over the same time frame, with demand from Europe still relatively weak, although pricing has been steady for much of the year on the lane.
     The disparity between transpacific and Asia-Europe air freight demand largely mirrors the container shipping industry, but it is unclear as yet how much of the mismatch is down to early shipments in the U.S. to avoid tariffs or relative economic health.
     Most analysts suggest it is likely a bit of both.

Export China Continues

     In dollar terms, Chinese year-on-year export growth to the U.S. rose 13.2% last month, up from 11.2% in July as shippers front-loaded exports ahead of impending new U.S. tariffs on $200 billion of produce, following earlier tariffs of $50bn on Chinese exports. Chinese export growth to the European Union, by contrast, fell to 8.4% in August from 9.5% in July.

Sneak Peak

     Nicola Hughes, Air Cargo Business Development at Freight Investor Services (FIS), said there were signs of air freight markets building towards a traditional peak season on both the Asia-Europe and Transpacific lanes.
     “Freight forwarders are already reporting constraints on capacity availability on some lanes and are expressing a desire to lock in volumes as soon as possible,” she said.

An Apple A Day

     “Apple have also announced the launch of three new models. They will need to utilize air freight to get these into shops which could tighten capacity in the run up to Christmas, especially if they haven’t already secured their freight space.”
     FIS recently launched two risk management products – the Index Linked Agreement (ILA) and the Air Freight Forwarder Agreement (AFFA) - designed to settle contracts based on the TAC index, thereby enabling buyers to better manage their air cargo rate price risk.

Strong Start

     On the Transpacific lane, Hughes told Flying Typers that rates had been rising as the peak import season to the U.S. got off to a strong start, with some shippers understood to be importing goods early to avoid a third tranche of import tariffs on Chinese products expected to be announced.
However, she said the TAC Index fell 1.05% in the week to 10 September on the Asia–Europe lane, pushing forecasts for Q4 peak pricing down marginally.

What Goes Down Goes Up

     “Although this week has seen rates go down, they are still up compared with the same week in 2017 and 2016,” she said.
     “Additional capacity on the Asia-Europe route, including Uni-top Airlines’ new freighter which adds 330 tons per week to the market, has eased the previous capacity squeeze that was driving rates up.
     “Europe’s peak season usually comes two weeks after the transpacific and is likely to start in the lead up to China’s Golden Week at the start of October.”
     Yet while demand and rates are showing signs of improving as Q4 approaches, it is also becoming clear that air freight has had a challenging year so far.


FTKs Fatigue

     Annual growth in air freight ton kilometers (FTKs) slowed to 2.8% in the three months ended July – its slowest pace on this basis in more than two years, according to IATA Q32018 ‘Cargo Chartbook’ report released this week.
     “While FTKs are continuing to increase in seasonally adjusted terms, the upward trend has slowed markedly from that seen during the best of the upturn in air freight last year,” it reported
“This largely reflects the fact that the inventory restocking cycle, which helped air freight growth to outperform that of wider global trade in 2016/17, has now run its course.

Protectionism Impact

     “More generally, against a backdrop of rising trade protectionism measures, wider momentum in world trade also looks to be weakening.”
     More positively, so far during the second half of 2018 IATA said cargo yields had trend upwards, albeit at a slower pace than a year ago. “While the industry wide load factor is trending down, ongoing high rates of freighter aircraft utilization will continue to help to reduce average costs, and to help offset ongoing upward pressure on costs, particularly from higher fuel prices,” it added.
SkyKing