Hong Kong handler Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) has introduced Autonomous Electric Tractors (AET) to its terminal in Hong Kong.
The company said the AET’s would help create efficiencies and alleviate the manpower shortage faced by the industry, particularly during the peak season.
The handler said it was the first cargo terminal operator in Hong Kong to deploy AETs.
“AETs offer uninterrupted service for extended hours, providing reliable support and maintaining operational efficiency,” SATS-owned AAT pointed out.
“They are also capable of navigating adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain or fog, ensuring operations continuity.
“In addition, the AETs’ seamless transition between manual and autonomous modes allows for high operational flexibility within dynamic work environments.”
The company said that the AETs, which have a range of 90 km per charge, would also reduce emissions by up to 35% compared with conventional diesel tractors.
AAT chief executive Mike Chew said: “Thanks to the team’s rigorous testing, training and trials conducted over the past eighteen months, we have successfully deployed AETs in our cargo terminals operations, enabling cargo and ULDs towing through various routes and across different levels of the terminal.
“By utilising electric-powered AETs, we are not only reducing carbon footprint but also ensuring resilience and the quality of service we provide to our customers.”
Each AET is equipped with various safety features, including nine high-definition cameras and three lidar sensors for efficient navigation.
“The integration of advanced three-dimensional mapping systems and dGPS technology enable the AETs to effectively manoeuvre through obstacles and follow designated routes throughout the multi-level warehouse,” ATT explained.
The braking system can stop the AETs when obstacles are detected within 10 m to safeguard safety at workplace.
AAT is not the only Hong Kong handler looking to deploy AETs. Hactl also recently announced it would look to introduce the technology later this year to help meet staff shortages faced by the airport sector.
DB Schenker is supporting its pharma business with increased Good Distribution Practice (GDP) compliance.
The company now has certifications in accordance with GDP standards for 157 of its stations. These certifications cover key markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia for the global trade of medical goods.
“By achieving this milestone, DB Schenker can now cover 80% of the world’s healthcare flows with their recent certificates, making it one of the world’s largest GDP-compliant logistics networks. DB Schenker can now even better meet the evolving needs of the global pharmaceutical industry,” said DB Schenker.
Within the next twelve months, the global logistics service provider plans to certify over 180 of its stations to be able to organise and manage GDP-compliant logistics.
Veronique Dameme, head of global vertical market healthcare at DB Schenker. said: “At the end of every healthcare supply chain there is a patient. That’s why we ensure that medical products are stored and distributed in accordance with the highest standards.
“The successful GDP certification of our facilities marks a significant milestone on our roadmap and shows our ongoing pursuit of excellence in pharmaceutical logistics.”
Healthcare is a highly regulated industry governed by various guidelines, making GDP compliance critical. With Good Distribution Practice, DB Schenker follows a guideline that ensures that the integrity and quality of pharmaceutical products is maintained throughout the entire supply chain process.
DB Schenker’s internal Global Healthcare Quality Management System addresses the Good Distribution Practices for medicinal products for human and veterinary use and related active substances set out by the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO). DB Schenker ensures these requirements are complied with through the internal Directive Healthcare Quality Management, which forms the basis of DB SCHENKER | life+.
The company said when it first started the implementation process for certification, the first goal was to define a global standard valid for all transport modes. This made the GDP certificate suitable. The certification ensures that the process, infrastructure, and staffing comply with the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, using this ideal approach across all business units.
After a station is awarded certification following successful completion of an internal certification process, a risk-based re-audit is performed based on continuously measured KPIs. This is repeated at least every three years to ensure the highest quality is maintained.
Online booking platform WebCargo is launching a new tool predicting whether airfreight rates will rise or fall to help airlines and forwarders plan for the future.
The Volatility Index will launch this week and predicts trade lane rate trends by mining the airfreight data generated by WebCargo. It will help industry players protect margins, the Freightos-owned company explained.
“In an era of freight volatility, our aim is to help airlines and forwarders stay ahead of the curve by predicting whether rates on a given lane are expected to rise or fall,” WebCargo said.
“This helps airlines protect their margins and remain competitive when prices drop, and helps forwarders and customers lock in the best rates when prices are on the rise.”
The tool will also offer real-time rate trends, providing insights on rate volatility and fluctuations.
When forwarders search for a service, the tool will offer insights into an airline’s recent rate activity with prompts such as “this airline’s rates increased recently in a constant way” or “this airline’s rates decreased recently, fluctuating a lot”.
The data used to generate the insights is based on the firm’s air cargo booking platform, which continues to grow. Last year, more than 1m bookings in 12 months were completed on WebCargo for the first time, although the company admits this is a small percentage of the total industry.
In 2021, Freightos launched an air cargo pricing index based on data from its Webcargo booking portal.
The Freightos Air Index (FAX) would provide spot market pricing visibility and consists of a headline index of pricing across global air cargo lanes, weighted based on trade lane activity, as well as price comparisons across trade lanes, airport pairs, and weight breaks.
Chinese airlines will in April increase the amount of bellyhold capacity they operate on flights to the US following approval to expand operations.
The US Department of Transportation has from April authorised China-based airlines to increase the number of weekly flights they carry out between the US and China from 35 to 50.
“We believe that our present action is a significant step forward in further normalisation of the US-China market in anticipation of the Summer 2024 traffic season,” the DoT explained.
Following the approval, Air China will operate 14 weekly services, China Southern will operate 10, China Eastern 12, Xiamen Airlines five, Hainan Airlines six and Sichuan Airlines three.
However, this remains down on the more than 150 round-trip flights that were allowed by each side before restrictions were imposed as a result of the Covid pandemic.
The move comes as airfreight rates on services from China to the US have been increasing.
In its latest weekly market update, airfrieght rate data provider TAC Index said that rates out of China continued to edge up, despite the Ching Ming festival when activity often slows.
Prices out of Shanghai were last week up by 8.4% compared with a week earlier, while they were 8.2% ahead of last year.
Judah Levine, head of research at rate portal Freightos, said that the increase in capacity could ease some pressure on rates on the trade lane.
He added that air cargo volumes out of China were being driven by growing demand for business-to-consumer e-commerce out of China.
“Online retailers like Temu and Shein are increasingly buying up air cargo space to the west,” he said.
Freight forwarder Dimerco recently reported that e-commerce demand had led to many block space agreements selling out.
While Chinese carriers seem keen to increase operations to the US, take up in the other direction has been slower.
The three largest US airlines in March said they are pushing back until at least late October the resumption of many flights to China that they cut early during the Covid-19 pandemic.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines received authority from the DoT to delay by another 90 days the resumption of nearly 100 weekly flights to China, according to regulatory documents released on March 5.
The US carriers hold DOT-issued approvals to fly specific routes to China, doing so under requirements laid out in the US air transport treaty with China. The DoT can take back those approvals if carriers fail to operate the flights.
Throughout the pandemic, the agency issued waivers in 90-day chunks permitting the US carriers to keep the flights grounded without the risk of losing the flight permissions. The DoT issued fresh waivers, which run through 26 October, in February.
The US airlines had urged the DoT to act, saying demand for flights to China remains depressed.
Cargo volumes at Liege Airport were up 16% in March year on year following increased air cargo demand in the market this year combined with e-commerce and Red Sea-related demand.
The Belgian freighter hub handled 104,080 tons in March versus 90,097 tons in March 2023. Volumes were also up more than 14% for the year to date.
Meanwhile, the number of cargo aircraft movements rose by 8% compared with the same period in 2023.
Liege Airport stated: “This increase in volumes outstrips the trend in global demand of 11%, as revealed by an analysis by Xeneta. Cargo air transport got off to a stronger start than forecasted at the end of 2023.
“E-commerce and the difficulties encountered by maritime transport in the Red Sea and its modal shift towards airfreight further fuelled this strong growth.”
The airport stated that operations are shifting away from nighttime hours and noisy aircraft as part of plans to tackle pollution and become more sustainable.
In March, the number of night flights was 12% down in comparison to March 2023 (860 movements vs. 981 movements), while daytime movements grew by 26%.
Liege also noted that since the beginning of the year the airport has seen an 8% reduction in the number of flights operated by both Boeing 747-400F and 747-200F aircraft, which has reduced noise at the airport and for surrounding communities.
Laurent Jossart, chief executive at Liege, said: “We are particularly pleased with the growth in volumes at Liege Airport’s logistics and multimodal hub. We beat our all-time record for volumes in a week 13 of the year (previous record set in 2021). This is a big encouragement for the future and confirms the validity of our Masterplan 2023-2040.”
United Cargo has opened a 165,000 sq ft cargo facility at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
The extra cargo handling capacity that the new facility at 100 Frontage Road provides will support United Airlines’ plan to fly more widebody aircraft at EWR. The facility is a five-minute drive from the airline’s 154,000 sq ft on-airport facility at 344 Brewster Road.
The facility includes 40 loading dock doors with aluminum grill grates and insulated panel doors; eight high-speed roll up doors on weight activation sensors; 38 trailer truck stalls across from the dock for truck trailer staging; 1,008 skids of total pallet storage volume on racking; eight quad outlets and four duplex outlets in the ULD storage racking; 58 PMCs of total ULD storage capacity on racking; 48 ft high ceiling, allowing for future racking growth; and 100% electric MHE forklifts.
Temperature-controlled storage features also include two coolers (2 to 8 °C), measuring 2,700 sq ft; one temperature-controlled room (15 to 25 °C), measuring 4,500 sq ft; six speed doors with air curtains to maintain the temperature in each room; and 16 duplex outlets with a dedicated 20 amps each.
“We are the number one cargo carrier in the world, and with warehouses like this one, we can truly outperform even more,” said cargo president Jan Krems. “With this new space, we will successfully serve the Newark area and customers worldwide even better than before.”
EWR represents nearly 30% of United Cargo’s global tonnage and revenue.
“This investment in EWR is incredibly important because it’s such a critical hub for us across the network.,” said EWR and IAD airport operations senior vice president Mike Hanna. “It’s not only one of our most important hubs, but a gateway to the world as we serve 61 international destinations. As one of the largest employers in New Jersey, we want to invest in the fabric of the community — making sure we partner with local companies across the tristate area. We’re continuing to make great investments in this hub as the New Jersey hometown airline.”
DHL Global Forwarding has announced the first investment of the Prada Group in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) credits, utilising DHL Global Forwarding’s GoGreen Plus service.
Already in 2023, the partnership with DHL allowed Prada Group to save approximately 4,500 metric tons of CO2e, which would correspond to 7% of the Group’s total transport associated emissions.
By leveraging sustainable fuels, DHL Global Forwarding is able to support customers in effectively reducing their transport emissions from airfreight.
SAF allows for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% compared to conventional aviation fuel. The fuel itself is produced from waste sources, such as used cooking oil and food waste. DHL follows hereby an insetting approach, utilising sustainable fuels to reduce emissions directly at the source.
Air carriers use sustainable biofuels on behalf of DHL, leading to reductions in emissions. These emission reductions are transferred to DHL, who then allocates them to the shippers in the form of certificates.
“In today’s world, it is crucial to establish a clear roadmap for decarbonization that involves carriers, SAF manufacturers, regulators, and customers. We are proud that Prada Group has chosen to leverage the expertise of DHL Global Forwarding to form a partnership that we believe will drive the much-needed change forward,” said Mario Zini, managing director of DHL Global Forwarding Italy.
The SAF utilised by DHL for the Prada Group is certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC). This certification guarantees that the fuel is produced in compliance with rigorous sustainability standards.
The ISCC is an independent initiative and renowned certification system that promotes sustainable, traceable, deforestation-free, and climate-friendly supply chains. It covers various materials including sustainable agricultural biomass, biogenic wastes and residues, non-biological renewable materials, and recycled carbon-based materials.
Duvenbeck, the logistics company, has launched operations in the e-fulfilment sector. The logistics specialist put into service a new fulfilment centre in Böblingen near Stuttgart at the beginning of this year in order to process orders for goods that are bought online. This is where Duvenbeck provides all the services that operators of Internet stores or online market places require for their e-commerce business. Online traders can now obtain warehousing, stock management, packaging and returns management as a complete package from Duvenbeck.
“Operators of Internet stores can now completely focus on their sales and the further development of their platform. We handle everything else,“ says Barbara Geissler-Henn, the Business Development Manager Contract Logistics at Duvenbeck in Böblingen, explaining the process.
The launch of services has been very promising. The fashion start-ups, Vicinity and MoonLight, have already outsourced the handling procedures for all their orders to Duvenbeck, for example. All the orders placed by customers directly make their way to Böblingen via IT interfaces. Any orders, which arrive by 3 p.m., are put together, packaged and sent to companies or private customers by express or package services on the same day – and in a climate-neutral way, if required.
The new fulfilment centre in Böblingen is designed to be a multi-user warehouse. This means absolute flexibility for online traders, as the site offers them growth potential. If required, operators can book additional services, such as dispatching items in individual customer or special offer packaging. A smooth returns management system with quality checks and reconditioning of returned items complete the fulfilment services.
DIY and electronic articles, toys, fashion items or food supplements – there is hardly a product that is not sold online nowadays. “However, we don’t just appeal to Internet stores for private customers. Our fulfilment concept is just as suitable for industrial customers, which need to send their components and spare parts to customers quickly and easily,” Geissler-Henn adds.
Jettainer, the global leader in Unit Load Device (ULD) management, is forging ahead with its reorganization. Dr. Gert Pfeifer took up his new role as General Manager Europe on April 1. This position was created to align Jettainer’s sales and organizational strategy for Europe with regional market requirements and the group’s overarching commercial strategy.
After previously appointing General Managers for the Americas and for the Middle East and Africa, Jettainer has now named Dr Gert Pfeifer, an experienced aviation expert from within the company, as its General Manager Europe. This position is part and parcel of Jettainer’s strategic reorganization in order to respond optimally to regional market trends and needs. Gert’s new responsibilities include developing and implementing a regional sales and operations strategy for Europe to enhance and ensure the market-driven and reliable ULD management service at all times. He and his teams will handle all aspects of customer relations in the region, including sales, operations, and customer service, reinforcing Jettainer’s dedication to excellence in serving its customers.
“Our new structure is designed to reflect the specific customer needs and market situations in the various regions. It brings us closer to our customers, which subsequently benefits our entire global customer network,” remarked Thomas Sonntag, Jettainer’s CEO. “Thanks to his many years with the company, particularly as Head of Operational Excellence Supply Chain, Dr Gert Pfeifer has in-depth knowledge of the ULD market and our customers’ requirements and has all the skills needed to drive Jettainer’s growth in Europe.”
Dr Gert Pfeifer joined Jettainer 15 years ago and has held a variety of leadership roles in IT and Operations over the years. Most recently, he held the position of Head of Operational Excellence Supply Chain and was responsible for areas including fleet management, ULD engineering, the repair and maintenance processes and new customer integration. Dr Pfeifer also played a key role in the development of digital twins, virtual images of real ULDs, to identify any additional potential for improvement from the very first to the final use of containers and pallets.
Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) has been chosen by Malaysia Airlines (MH) as its latest destination for a weekly full freighter cargo service with the first inbound flight set to arrive from Kuala Lumpur in early April.
The scheduled weekly flight will use the relatively fuel efficient and quieter MH Airbus A330F and make MST only the second airport in Europe that MH flies to, after Schiphol Amsterdam Airport (AMS).
“This is an important opportunity for MST, as since Royal Schiphol Group (RSG) invested in 40 per cent of the airport last year, we have seen our operations consistently growing,” said Jonas Van Stekelenburg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MST.
“Our new runway and close partnership with AMS are among the many reasons we can offer MH a great option to fly inbound and outbound cargo to and from.
“Our location, high performing team, and efficiency are widely known to attract cargo flights, but being part of RSG is accelerating our growth and popularity within Europe as a top cargo destination.”
RSG invested for a 40 percent stake in MST last year, with the other 60 percent held by the region, the province of Limburg.
Since then, both shareholders have invested EUR30 million in the new runway, which was renewed last year, and MST are currently investing more than EUR40 million in further upgrades to the infrastructure and hardware of the airport.
MH are the second airline to confirm business with MST this year in January this year; Royal Jordanian Airlines was welcomed back after a hiatus due to the renewal of their air fleet.
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