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News
Air Cargo: Efficiency, Quality and
Security Are Key
-Entire Supply
Chain Must Back Industry Initiatives-
Vancouver - The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) called upon the entire air cargo value chain to drive
efficiencies and improve competitiveness by supporting IATA e-freight.
IATA also called for a renewed focus on quality via Cargo 2000 and a more
effective and cost efficient approach to security with IATA’s Secure
Freight program.
“We are starting to see some signs of optimism on the
horizon. But we cannot rebuild on the old foundations. This recession has
changed global business. To remain competitive, air cargo must improve
its quality and reduce its costs,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s
Director General and CEO in a message to 750 industry experts attending
the IATA World Cargo Symposium being held in Vancouver, Canada.
The global recession continues to challenge the global air
cargo industry. Cargo revenues were down by one quarter in 2009 compared
to the previous year—the most precipitous drop ever. The end of 2009 and
the beginning of 2010, however, saw a strong upturn in cargo volumes to a
level 28% higher than the low point seen in late 2008, according to the
new IATA Cargo E-Chartbook released today. This is still 3-4% below
the early 2008 peak level. There are new signs of yield increases on
specific routes and regions, with Asian markets bouncing back the
strongest.
In 2009, the wide-body fleet saw utilization fall by 7%
and the freighter fleet specifically is down by 160 aircraft. The
industry is expected to take delivery of 50 freighters in 2010 and the
wide-body fleet overall looks to expand by 4-5%.
“The recession has hit the industry hard. We have lost two
to three years of growth. We are starting to see some encouraging signs
with traffic volumes improving. Volumes don’t automatically translate to
profits. The challenges are many, including low yields, volatile fuel
prices and matching capacity to demand,” said Bisignani.
E-Freight Improves Efficiency
Bisignani highlighted the work on the e-freight agenda as
a way to accelerate the recovery and improve prospects for future
profitability. “E-freight has the potential to eliminate US$4.9 billion
in costs across the air cargo supply chain. In 12 months, e-freight
volumes increased five fold. We have come a long way but we need to
spread the capability of e-freight even wider,” said Bisignani. E-freight
now operates in 24 countries or territories and at over 100 airports. So
far, 16 of a planned 20 air cargo documents have been converted to
electronic format.
“This year will be critical for e-freight. We will convert
a further four documents to electronic format and add 20 countries to
program. This will give us the capability to remove 64% of the paper from
the system and cover 80% of international shipments. With this capability,
now is the time for customers, customs and governments to insist on
e-freight as the standard way to do business,” said Bisignani.
The electronic airway bill (e-AWB) is one of the 20
documents planned for conversion with e-freight. An industry standard e-AWB
that will eliminate the need to print, handle and archive paper airway
bills is being trialed by three airlines and 11 freight forwarders. In
addition to greater efficiency, the trials are demonstrating that e-AWB
can deliver faster air freight shipments with reduced delays because the
electronic documents cannot be lost or misplaced. The e-AWB standard has
been filed with governments around the world for approval. Importantly,
earlier this month the US Department of Transportation endorsed the new standard.
Improving Quality
Global quality standards and process simplification are
critical for air cargo. Under the IATA umbrella, Cargo 2000 is a group of
over 70 major airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, trucking
companies and IT providers. The organization has streamlined cargo
processes and publishes global quality standards. “IATA e-freight can
only be successful in the quality-controlled environment that Cargo 2000
is building. We need the whole supply chain to embrace Cargo 2000 as the
quality standard for the entire industry,” said Bisignani.
More Effective Security
“Besides removing paper from the shipping process to
improve efficiency, 2010 will also be a critical year for security. Our
Secure Freight strategy focuses on a data-driven, risk-based approach
with shared responsibility throughout the supply chain,” Bisignani
said. Secure Freight aims to secure the supply chain by defining,
auditing and registering secure operators that act in compliance with a
quality assurance system. IATA’s target is US$468 million in cost
savings with enhanced security through consistent standards and
procedures. The first pilot is in Malaysia and there are three more
planned for this year.
The IATA World Cargo Symposium is taking place in
Vancouver, Canada from 8-11 March 2010. Under the theme of “Bounce Back –
Rebuild for the Future,” the World Cargo Symposium is looking at building
a solid future for air cargo. IATA will release an updated industry
financial forecast on 11 March.
- IATA -
For more information, please contact:
Anthony Concil
Director Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org
Notes for Editors:
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