24

IRELANd

Welcome change of industry conversation as air rates firm

CASS figures for Irish airfreight exports showed an increase in December 2009 over the previous December, the first year-on-year increase for 18 months. However, the increase was just six tonnes to 3,745 tonnes and the improvement was not sustained into 2010, with January 11% down and February 6% down on the previous year. The top three destinations in 2009, Boston,

Hong Kong and Chicago, were each 6% down but there were much larger losses further down the rankings. Johannesburg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and Dubai were the main losers, reflecting a decrease in exports of IT product and medical equipment. GSA International may have bucked this

trend. MD Peter Canning maintains that for the carriers he represents, the pre-Christmas revival continued into the first quarter of 2010, with a 20% increase ex-Ireland. “We’re back to ‘when can you get it there?’ instead of just ‘what’s your price?’ in our discussions with customers,” Canning says. Ireland has lost much of its volumetric airfreight with the decline in IT exports, but it now ships denser pharmaceuticals and concentrated beverage flavourings – which ironically are classed as dangerous goods and must go maindeck, Canning points out. Continental Airlines’s Quickpak express

product has been a popular choice for Irish shippers requiring rapid access to the US. It is upgrading from a B757 to a 767 from Dublin to Newark for the summer season. GSA accesses Cargolux freighter aircraft

either via Prestwick or by trucking direct to Luxembourg and this has proved useful for movements of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals to the Far East. Aer Lingus’s mothballing of two aircraft

and complete withdrawal from the US west coast has left gaps that GSA aims to plug with both Virgin and Continental where it can find space. Canning says he will take anything he can get on the carriers’ quieter departures in the first half of the week. International Airline Marketing agrees

there can be problems getting large ad-hoc shipments across the Atlantic, given the loss of capacity both direct from Ireland and from the UK. American Airlines reduced from a 767

ISSUE 1 2010

Irish GSAs have to truck to the UK and beyond - if they can get a space allocation

to a 757 and cut back to four flights a week from Dublin for the winter. It will restore a daily 767 only for the peak June-August period, says Ian McCool, MD of IAM. Air Canada will also operate a daily 767

from Heathrow to Toronto for three months this summer. IAM runs temperature-controlled trucks to London to put pharmaceutical shipments on AC services. Tokyo Narita is bouncing back in the CASS

statistics for January and February, along with other Asian destinations. Japan in particular has “changed dramatically”, McCool says. “A few months ago no-one could fill aircraft, but since October the flights have been getting fuller. “With JAL cutting its second daily passenger service from London and its three freighters, British Airways and Air France- KLM also reducing capacity, space is tight and rates are increasing,” McCool says. “ANA is probably market leader now. The flights are 90% full with permanent bookings.” IAM’s latest contract is with Egyptair, which

operates nine passenger flights plus two A300-600 freighters a week from Heathrow to Cairo. It also flies a daily freighter from Ostend to the Egyptian capital.

Medicine heals airfreight ills

Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical equipment now account for 60% of Ireland’s merchandise exports. They are almost single- handedly holding up the airfreight sector, says John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, because they go back to Asia or the US compared with hi-tech shipments which mainly go to Europe. “The food industry has been hammered because of the exchange rate, as we’re heavily reliant on the UK,” Whelan says. “We’re trying to reposition ourselves to serve the Eurozone, but it’s not easy to re-work the supply chain. “The recession has accelerated trends that were already in place. We have lost out in computers, especially boxed products where the volumes were,” he adds.

“Wind turbines and the ‘eco’ sector generally are promising. But we’re making a strong case to government that we can’t just offer a manufacturing solution. We have to be a distribution hub. Our strong embedded 3PL sector may appeal to those who want to come in and outsource. “This means looking at everything from transport linkages to improved broadband, customs facilitation and tax. We may be able to do more repackaging, relabelling and packing.” Ireland’s good shortsea connections fit the green agenda and Whelan believes the country is up with the best in terms of intellectual property, which may allay tax regulators’ fears about companies offshoring for financial benefit. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36