In the final installment of his in-depth article, Paul Jackson, chairman of Triangle Management Services, brings us up to the modern day.
By the mid-1980s, TNT was firing on all four cylinders and investing 18 % in Airborne, a US-based freight forwarder with an overnight US air network – seen at the time as a move of genius. However, Abeles was thwarted by US regulations against foreign ownership of airlines and a determined management who awarded themselves ludicrous “golden parachutes” – high-value termination contracts in the event of takeover.
Please visit Post and Parcel to read the entire story.
Despite the difficulties that our industry is facing today, the Chairman of TIACA remains optimistic, he tells to IATA’s Airlines International.
Ulrich Ogiermann, Chairman, the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) explains why he believes air freight has a bright future: “The air cargo industry will emerge stronger than other transport modes”. Towards the end of 2008 and throughout 2009, the air cargo industry saw a dramatic downturn in volume, reflecting reduced spending in the wake of the global recession.
In 2010, the air cargo industry’s first goal must be to stop the bleeding from the wounds incurred in 2009. We may see some growth as the year progresses but it will be 2011 before there is a sustainable improvement, and forecasts predict that not until 2013/14 will we return to the market size we enjoyed in 2007 and early 2008.
The air cargo industry will take time to recover properly and must decide what it will do to make air freight more attractive to customers. I expect to see more volatility over the next 12 months because there are still many unknown factors and bubbles waiting to burst at any moment.
The full story can be read on IATA’s website.
IATA’s periodical Airlines International has published an interesting story about changes in the Airfreight landscape.
Air freight is learning its lessons from the crisis and becoming a different industry.
The massive decline in international air freight traffic due to the global recession—over 20% year-on-year at the lowest point—has given way to the first signs of recovery. But cargo will likely never again experience “business as usual”.
IATA expects 2009 to show a 13% contraction, with a modest improvement of 7.7% in 2010. Total freight volumes will remain 10% below the 41.8 million tonne peak recorded in 2007 although cargo demand is rising slightly faster than world trade as companies look to replenish inventories. Yields have been hit hard, last year plummeting 15%. They are expected to only improve by 0.9% in 2010.
And even though marginally better times may be on the horizon, a cautious attitude to the figures is still advised. Brian Pearce, IATA Chief Economist, stresses that air freight has so far only recovered about half of the volumes lost in 2008.
“There are headwinds to any growth,” he says. “Banks are still short of capital, high unemployment effects will come into play, and consumer debt is high—it’s 130% of annual income in US. This affects spending patterns and will ripple through the system.
“Another factor is the unevenness of growth,” he continues. “There is only a small increase in demand in developed nations compared with the likes of India, China and Brazil.”
Please visit IATA’s website to read the full story.
