Coming together in Brazil Much of the Latin American logistics community gathered in Brazil earlier this month for Intermodal
South America. They were joined by executives from companies based beyond the region, all of them keen to discover the many opportunities there are to do business in this thriving market
F
igures released by event organisers UBM Brazil show that the three-day Intermodal South America 2012 exhi- bition attracted more than 45,450 visitors.
The highpoint of a show that always draws
the attention of those who want to do business in the vibrant Latin American market was on the second day of the event, when more than 20,000 professionals were present at the fair. Euzébio Angelotti Neto, cargo director of
Brazilian flag-carrier TAM Airlines, observed that the Intermodal South America exhibition is “an important meeting point for companies and professionals from the sector, who are look-
ing for new business and partnerships. We have taken part in and supported Intermodal South America for 18 years, because we believe in the great power of the event. “Intermodal manages to show off the poten-
tial and capability of Brazil very well,” he added. Among the other global air cargo carriers
present in the exhibition halls at Intermodal were the cargo wings of Air France-KLM, American Airlines, Lufthansa and the Dubai- based Emirates Airline, with divisional senior vice president cargo Ram Menen commenting: “Latin America is a very important part of our network that we are trying to develop.” He noted that the carrier would like to
expand its services to other parts of South America. In the past 12 months, Emi-
rates has carried over 20,000 tonnes on its B777 freighter ser- vices linking São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Frankfurt and Dubai on the burgeoning trade lanes between South America and points across the carrier’s global network. “Our expanded services in the
region have not only boosted trade levels with the UAE, but also with South America’s main Far East busi- ness partners, such as China, Hong Kong and Japan, and a multitude of European countries,” Menen observed. Kenny Schulz, general manager of Air Char-
ter Service (ACS), said that the broker was at Intermodal South America to cement relation- ships. “We are looking forward to growth in Latin America and we need to focus on our cus- tomers and our suppliers. Our biggest problem in South America is the lack of operators and it is important for us to be here ... to demonstrate our focus on the region.” Jose Canales, managing director Panalpina Mercosur, said that the giant forwarder is busy
building its multimodal offering for the fast- growing Brazilian market. He added that the company has landed new accounts and is pur- suing others in the oil and gas industry and in the commodities sector. Canales also pointed out that Panalpina is
working to develop its “last-mile capabilities” to complement the company’s range of interna- tional offerings. Carlos Magno, logistics manager at Brazilian
airports operator Infraero, explained that he was at the event with the aim of finding new sup- pliers and making new contacts. “At this event we really do have the chance of expanding our business,” he said.
WCA Family offers cost-effective contacts
Mark Mariowitz, managing director of Bangkok-headquar- tered WCA Family of Logistic Networks, says that the group’s attendance at Intermodal South America allowed its members to attend the event at a price that individually would not have been cost- effective, thereby giving them “great access to a fast-growing local market”. He observed that 90 per-
cent of the cargo currently going into Latin America is routed through agents in the region, and “that’s a tremen- dous opportunity for forwarders in China, Europe and the US” to gain a lot of business
Mariowitz notes “great access”
that is currently being gener- ated and handled by local agents. He pointed out that Inter-
modal South America is the perfect platform for interna- tional WCA Family members to meet with the agents in the Latin America market who control the cargo flows through the region. Mariowitz concluded by
insisting that WCA Family of Logistic Networks has been able to increase its presence at the exhibition over the past three years due to the grow-
ing number of qualified agents joining the group.
Looking at the way forward in challenging times
The Air Cargo Brazil 2012 conference held dur- ing Intermodal South America brought together representatives to discuss how it can respond to an increasingly challenging marketplace. Topics included public/private partnerships,
how to minimise the bottlenecks that hold up the processes that surround air transport and
strategies for combining modes that result in a faster transit time for cargo. Highlights of the second day at the event
included a debate on the future direction of air cargo transportation in the area, pointing the way forward for the region’s logistics industry.
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30 April 2012
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