Freight’s


Tim Cook CEO, Apple


A


pple’s products have contributed significantly to the revenue streams of air cargo carriers. Apple’s manufacturer, the Taiwanese company Foxconn,


shipped 5,300 tonnes of laptops and iPad tablets from its Chengdu factory in August alone, while in July, Zhengzhou exported 1,850 tonnes of iPhones. According to research from Seabury, the air exports of


laptops and tablets from China account for 1.3% of global air trade. Gartner Research predicts that tonnage will double in the next four years, with tablets driving the growth. This would equate to some three full freighters per day, per factory. Cook replaced Steve Jobs as CEO in August 2011, and


before that served as chief operating officer, responsible for all Apple’s worldwide sale and operations, including the end-to-end management of the supply chain, sales activities and service and support in all markets and all countries. Cook is credited with ending Apple’s manufacturing business, helping the company reduce inventory levels and


Jim Crane CEO, Crane Capital Group


J


im Crane is another of the true entrepreneurs of the freight business. He famously launched Eagle USA Air Freight after borrowing $10,000 from his sister. The company became a huge success and evolved into


one of the most respected US logistics operations, later becoming Eagle Global Logistics and finally EGL. What followed was one of the more extraordinary


takeover stories in the history of freight – almost apocryphal in the way it pitched Crane, the industry veteran, against Wall St moneymen. After US private equity fund Apollo Management


acquired UK logistics group CEVA, it went after EGL, which at that time was 17.6% owned by Crane. He tabled a counter offer to Apollo’s bid, which in turn responded with another bid that, ultimately, Crane was unable to match. EGL was bought by CEVA for around $2 billion, reportedly double what the company had been valued at before the protracted sale process began.


12 IFW-Lloyd’s Loading List | Freight’s Global 100 | 2012 While there was considerable acrimony around the deal,


Crane emerged a year later with a new company, Crane Worldwide Logistics (CWL), with a board that was almost exclusively composed of ex-EGL executives – the very people that had made it so successful. By the end of 2008, with the world spiralling into


recession and still digesting the aftershock of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse, CWL had already generated around $150 million of revenue after a mere four months of trading. Its growth in these toughest of times has been little


short of amazing, and although it is expected to generate around $500 million of revenue next year – which is relatively small beer compared to the largest logistics providers – its growth has far outstripped its bigger rivals. To the American public he is better known as the man


who bought the Houston Astros baseball team, which he acquired in late 2011.


streamlining its supply chain – a move that dramatically increased margins. Apple is said to be planning to double its supply chain spend next year, to a staggering $7.1 billion. According to Businessweek, Apple exerts control over


every part of the supply chain, from design to store. Its volumes ensure it gets large discounts on parts, manufacturing capacity and air freight. Most computer manufacturers used to ship products by sea, but in 1998 Jobs wanted the new iMacs to be available for Christmas, so Apple spent $50 million buying air freight capacity. But it was the iPod that initiated the trend of


manufacturing a product and shipping it straight to a customer’s door, enabling Apple to avoid keeping large inventories. Other hi-tech companies have since followed suit. Before joining Apple in 1998, Cook worked for Compaq,


Intelligent Electronics and IBM. He is also on the board of directors at Nike.


Global 100


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