NorthAmericaReport Wallace Air Cargo manages to hold steady


The outlook for the rest of this year is “not too rosy”, suggests Ned Wallace, president and founder of Los Angeles-head- quartered GSA Wallace Air Cargo Group. Wallace observed: “There


has been some growth in US exports, but not a great deal, and a lot of air traffic is going to ocean as shippers try to reduce costs. “Our ad hoc charters are


also dramatically down this year,” he added, and the lack of charter requests at this point in the year suggests there will probably not be a peak season in 2012. But Wallace Air Cargo’s business is proving


stable in spite of the generally weak air freight market. Client carrier Kalitta Air has adjusted


Wallace: this year is “not too rosy”


capacity on some routes, sus- pending its weekly flights between the US and China and cutting services to Hong Kong from five times a week to four. Elsewhere, the airline is


involved in a number of mili- tary contracts. Most recently, Kalitta Air (alongside National Air Cargo and Atlas Air) was awarded a contract to fly cargo under the Theater Express II programme for the US Trans- portation Command, starting this month (August). Also, three Kalitta aircraft


are operated on behalf of the US Post Office, carrying mail from New York Newark to Bahrain, from where DHL transports it on board smaller aircraft to bases in Afghanistan.


Carrier focuses on customers


According to Lise-Marie Turpin, vice president at Air Canada Cargo: “Although the environment is challenging, Air Canada’s cargo business has been meeting expecta- tions in 2012.” She said the carrier has “a


diverse network which allows us to serve different countries with a variety of products and services. That said, the emerging markets are often a focus area for us as there is potential for growth.” Air Canada intends to focus also


on its specialised product offerings such as Cool Chain and Dangerous Goods. “We are con- stantly reviewing our offering and ensuring that we are meeting and even exceeding our cus- tomers’ expectations,” Turpin commented. “Combining our selection in product offer-


ing with our expansive network allows us to offer our customers more choices to more desti- nations. For example, the pharma customer in Switzerland should not think of us in terms of Canada only –we can also effectively help them ship to the US, South America and even Asia,” she pointed out. Turpin believes strongly that bringing more


technology – such as e-freight and the e-air way- bill – to the air cargo supply chain will benefit all those involved. Such initiatives will lead to “a marked


improvement in data and information quality, level of security, customer service and produc- tivity. These benefits will not only be felt by the carrier but by each participant in the supply chain. “Air Canada is forging ahead with develop-


ment in both these areas in order to meet the International Air Transport Association’s goal of 12 percent e-freight and 15 percent e-AWB by the end of 2012,” she concluded.


BRIEFS • BRIEFS • BRIEFS • BRIEFS


CANADIAN OVERNIGHT air cargo carrier Cargo- jet has successfully achieved recertification of its ISO 9001:2008 Quality Standard Accreditation for the 12th consecutive year. It is the only air cargo carrier in Canada to hold this accreditation.


INDUSTRY TRADE organisation A4A (Airlines for America) has called for the US Senate to support a National Airline Policy “in order to keep US air- lines competitive with foreign carriers, achieve sustained profitability and add highly skilled, technical jobs in the United States”. A4A high- lighted the fact that value of US exports by air is 117 times the value of that transported by sea.


JAPAN’S ANA GROUP is set to increase the fre- quency of its B777-300ER (Extended Range) flights between Tokyo Narita and New York JFK from daily to double-daily as of 28 October, sub- ject to regulatory approval.


LOGISTICS SERVICES provider C H Robinson Worldwide saw its total revenues rise by 9.2 per- cent year-on-year during the three months that ended on 30 June. Revenues from the US-based company’s air transportation division, however, fell by 7.5 percent as increasing volumes only par- tially offset price reductions.


VISION TECHNOLOGIES Aerospace –part of Sin- gapore’s ST Engineering in the US –will no longer proceed with its acquisition of Florida-based air- craft conversion house Pemco’s Tampa facility and other assets. The decision was taken as a result of Pemco being unable to fulfil certain con- ditions before the closing deadline, ST said.


AIR FREIGHT AND EXPRESS wholesaler AMI is centralising its Spot Rates department at its US headquarters in Dallas, combining its New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta operations.


UPS reveals mixed results for April - June this year


Atlanta-headquartered express integrator UPS has declared an operating profit of US$1.79 bil- lion for the second quarter of 2012, on revenues of $13.35 billion. The company’s Supply Chain and Freight


segment achieved a new record operating mar- gin of 8.9 percent, alongside an operating profit of $202 million. But, at $2.28 billion, the divi- sion’s revenue dropped by 1.6 percent year-on-year in the wake of declining interna- tional air freight demand and lower pricing. A UPS statement explained: “Forwarding


continues to experience pressure on pricing, especially out of Asia, as excess capacity in the marketplace continues.” The integrator’s Domestic Package results


were encouraging, with profits up by 12 percent to $122 million for the quarter. Volumes carried by its UPS Next Day Air services increased by 5 percent over the year-earlier period, while deferred air services rose by 8.6 percent. The international package segment


achieved an operating profit of $454 mil- lion despite weaker global economies.


Page 8


13 August 2012


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