Air Cargo

Strong consumer spending in the U.S. over the past three months has depleted inventories and the replenishment drive to restock shelves for the Spring launches will keep air and ocean carriers busy well into the first quarter.

Lufthansa Cargo and All Nippon Airways have launched the world’s first air cargo joint venture, with maiden flights between Europe and Japan.

India’s fast growing e-commerce market is facing some formidable challenges, with nation-wide distribution among the key issues logistics services providers must overcome.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a day-long strike Thursday, the second walk out this week, in a year-long dispute over retirement benefits.

The recovery in the global air cargo gathered pace in October with traffic growing 5.4 percent from a year ago to hit a new monthly high, the International Air Transport Association said.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a 21-hour walkout Tuesday as part of a year-long wave of strikes that forced the German carrier to cancel almost half of its scheduled short and medium-haul passenger flights today.

Nippon Express Co., Japan’s largest international freight forwarder, said on Monday that it has acquired a controlling stake in Nittsu NEC Logistics Ltd., its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp.

The U.S. West Coast port congestion drove shippers to air freight at the worst possible time with rates for air cargo at the seasonal highpoint of what is turning out to be the most robust peak season in years.

The single biggest cost of shipping lines and air cargo carriers continues to tumble, giving the freight transport industry a welcome end-of-year bonus to add to the best peak season in years, with some savings transferred to customers through reduced fuel surcharges.

The international air freight demand of Asia-Pacific airlines, measured in freight ton kilometres (FTK), grew by a firm 6.4 percent in October, on the back of buoyant demand for electronic goods from manufacturing hubs in North Asia.

A tentative U.S.-Mexico aviation pact would expand air cargo services linking the North American trading partners, but the biggest benefits may go to global shippers.

The rapid expansion of China’s largest courier SF Express both internationally and across domestic cities over the past two years has been stunning, yet the growth of e-commerce in its home market is always one step ahead.

All Nippon Airways Co. and United Airlines, both members of the Star Alliance global airline network, plan to launch a strategic air cargo joint venture on trans-Pacific routes, the first of its kind between the U.S. and Asia.

Asia’s competitive airline environment is placing intense profitability pressure on carriers in the region, but the focus on costs will not see air cargo shippers facing the wide scale route cutbacks, reduced frequencies and rolled shipments that have afflicted their ocean freight counterparts.

Air cargo is going through a period of adjustment that will keep profitability largely out of reach for the world’s carriers until more of a balance is achieved between cargo capacity and demand.

Cargolux, Europe’s largest all-cargo carrier, posted its best ever October, with its fleet of 22 Boeing 747 freighters breaking records for tonnage, revenue and block hours.

European Union regulators approved Etihad Airways' acquisition of a 49 percent stake in loss-making Italian-flag carrier Alitalia.

The strong rebound of trans-Pacific trade will ensure the air cargo industry enjoys a happy festive season this year, but few are prepared to forecast the robust growth will continue much past Chinese New Year.

The chaotic waterfront scenes jamming up U.S. gateway ports on the West Coast are proving a boon for the air charter business and with no end in sight to the congestion, forwarders are securing space on chartered freighters for urgent cargo.

Shippers of trans-Pacific ocean freight trying to avoid crippling West Coast port congestion are turning to air cargo in such numbers that forwarders report prices going “through the roof.”

Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL booked higher third-quarter earnings as strong gains in international express and domestic parcel shipments offset shrunken margins at its global freight forwarding unit.

Combined growth among the 50 largest transportation and logistics companies worldwide slowed to a halt in 2013 amid global economic uncertainty. The combined revenue of the 50 companies slipped 0.1 percent after increasing 2.6 percent in 2012 and 8.4 percent in 2011.

Blue Dart Express, India’s leading air express and logistics services provider, reported relatively flat fiscal second-quarter net profit as a 24 percent rise in operating costs offset a 23.5 percent increase in operating revenue.

Transport Canada is proposing to allow shippers to screen their cargo before it reaches an airport, rather than solely relying on carriers to do so, in order to bridge security gaps and prevent terrorist attacks.

DHL has launched a new intra-Asia freighter flight connecting the economies of Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong as the global express services provider responds to increasing business within Southeast Asia.

Expedited airport-to-airport carrier Forward Air acquired Multi-Modal Trucking and Multi-Modal Services of Indianapolis, expanding its intermodal drayage and transloading services.

Growth in global air cargo accelerated in September, increasing 5.2 percent from a year ago. However, the market faces uncertainty because of faltering business confidence, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Cathay Pacific will launch a new freighter service to Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh later this month, strengthening its Asia-Pacific network on the back of industry data that shows airlines in the region growing by almost 6 percent in September compared to the same month last year.

A plan to move air freight facilities from John F. Kennedy International Airport to upstate New York likely won’t come without a fight.

IAG Cargo’s revenue declined nearly 8 percent in the third quarter as a reduction in British Airways freighter operations offset an improved performance at its Spanish partner Iberia.

Japan Airlines reported group net profit of 80.3 billion yen ($723 million), a drop of 2 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, despite a sharp rise in international cargo revenue.

ANA Holdings’ international cargo revenue surged more than 20 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, contributing to a big jump in the largest Japanese airline group’s net profit in the April-September period.

Lufthansa Cargo’s slim operating profit of 6 million euros ($7.6 million) in the third quarter, 20 percent higher than a year ago, maintained the carrier’s status as one of the few profitable scheduled air freight operators.

Chinese package delivery company S.F. Express was the fastest-growing global transportation company in 2013, increasing revenue 40.6 percent in a year when the 50 largest transport operators saw revenue go flat.

Air France-KLM’s troubled cargo business sank deeper into the red in the third quarter due to weaker demand and a two-week strike by pilots in September.

Air freight rates are on the rise heading into the peak season months of October and November, continuing a recent robust streak, Drewry Shipping Consultants says.

Steady growth in air freight demand was recorded by Asia’s airlines during September as the industry continued to benefit from rising international trade.

TNT Express suffered its first operating loss in five quarters due to a provision for a potential antitrust fine and restructuring costs.

Air cargo volumes will grow 4.1 percent annually through 2018, according to recently released forecast from the International Air Transport Association.