Airfreight markets in March were up 5.9 percent compared to a year ago and capacity grew 3.4 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association. While this marks a significant improvement in volumes compared to March 2013, much of the growth took place in the final quarter of 2013 (over and above the usual year-end volume growth). Since the beginning of the year, air cargo volumes have been basically flat. This plateau in volumes is consistent with the recent pause in improvements to business confidence and world trade.
Wayne Zorn, vice president of customer solutions with Solvoyo, lays out the tradeoffs that sellers must make between satisfying customer demands and calculating cost to serve.
Matt Menner, senior vice president of strategic account management with Transplace, examines four macro trends affecting transportation: capacity, human capital, carrier-shipper relations and information technology.
Traditional airfreight has become more difficult to sell. And that is hitting carriers' profits just as passengers are returning and they are laying on more flights.
The interests of the air cargo industry are getting short-changed in the UK, according to Chris Welsh, director of global and European policy at the Freight Transport Association.
Boeing and its investors likely couldn't be happier with the first quarter 2014 earnings report: revenue rose 8 percent over the year-ago quarter, operating margins widened, and 2014 guidance got boost. The U.S. aerospace company ramped up deliveries for its 787 and 737 models to keep pace with demand, which in turn increased cash flow beyond analyst expectations. And a $374bn backlog of more than 5,100 aircraft guarantees that even if Boeing stopped booking new orders today it would take nearly a decade to deliver all the planes on order. But things don't appear quite so rosy in Boeing's Defense, Space & Security division.
Can both levers be coordinated to create the right level of resilience despite unforeseen changes in the environment, such as lead time delays, demand fluctuations or network failures?
A designer and developer of colorful cases and covers for cell phones and other wireless devices found that its warehousing and distribution model was old hat. A new logistics services partner brought a new look to things.
