As we look back on 2016 and consider what may impact air cargo in the coming year, two issues come immediately to mind: the rapid growth of e-commerce and the ongoing importance of safety.
No one doubts that e-commerce will continue to expand in 2017, with more shipments to a larger area of the globe. This phenomenon is the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge for the air cargo industry. Forwarders and carriers have the route structure, capacity, operations and expertise to link manufacturing centers and consumers in both established and developing regions. But we need to use our assets in new ways to better connect, and connect with, e-commerce shippers and customers.
The fundamental question is: How can we combine our current strengths with creative uses of technology and process enhancements to generate effective, and cost-competitive, transport solutions for e-commerce? Since collaboration is key to our logistics model, making the most of this opportunity will require higher levels of innovation, flexibility and cooperation among shippers, forwarders, and carriers.
The rise of e-commerce is also a factor in the enduring priority of safety. Lithium batteries shipments have generated the most attention, and, with increasingly beneficial and complex mobile phones and computers, we will continue to bear the responsibility for transporting lithium batteries safely. But batteries are only the most conspicuous of many safety concerns. The contribution of packaging and ULDs to safety, not just the commodities in them, has also become a focus.
A welcome development in this area is the Federal Aviation Administration requirement that all air carriers develop and implement a safety management system. While every responsible industry stakeholder operates from a safety mindset, with SMS, all carriers will share the same positive safety culture, and will proactively manage risk in a consistent way — making our supply chains even safer.