ISSUE 2 2011
IRELAND
As other parts of the world continue to recover from the global downturn, the air export sector will continue to rise - despite the loss of some manufacturing, predicts Ian McCool of air cargo general sales agent, International Airline Marketing (IAM). Two
large exporters have
recently moved their production from Ireland - Dell from Limerick to Poland and IBM from Dublin to Singapore. While both these companies retain a very substantial presence in Ireland, in development, sales, marketing and finance they now have very few manufacturing activities. These sorts of events are reflected in the country’s total air exports, but the worst may be over. Total airfreight tonnage fell 23% in 2009 over 2008 but in the first 11 months of 2010 had recovered somewhat, by 4 %.
McCool says: “This is a long way
off some of the growth seen in some major European markets but taking into account the large volumes from Dell and IBM, which disappeared from the equation, the future looks well set for recovery.” Despite Ireland’s well-publicised
debt problems, exports are setting records. “The general feeling is that exports will greatly assist in the recovery of the Irish economy from the current downturn as this is one of the few sectors in Ireland that are showing strong results,” McCool continues. “There were 47 new foreign direct investment projects announced in 2010 as well as expansion plans announced by 79 existing foreign companies in Ireland.” IAM’s own exports volumes fell
off slightly, by 3% in 2010 but yield increased. “The reduction in volume
Exports boost sector job prospects
Export growth is expected to create up to 150,000 direct jobs within the sector, says Garvan Cerasi, managing director of specialist recruiter, Logiskills Group. “There is a noticeable increase in companies adding headcount as they experience increased volumes and approach maximum productivity from the existing workforce,” he explains. With salaries now around 10-25% off their peak in a number of roles and tax breaks for new hires, now is a good time for employers to seek out new talent to assist with their growth plans.
Despite the gloomy stories that have dominated the press over the past couple of years, growth
is anticipated in many sectors including software, life science, clean-tech and the food sector. The Irish Independent recently reported in its Exporting Review that Ireland is still home to 15 of the top 20 manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and medical devices in the world and the life science industry now accounts for over 63% of Irish merchandise exports.
Cerasi says: “Exports have never been so high, there has been a significant improvement in our competitiveness, FDI continues to grow, we have an entrepreneurial society, an innovation lead economy and an active diaspora who are keen to contribute to our recovery.”
can be put down to a number of factors – the AA widebody was only on the Dublin-Chicago route for a very short season last year. Austrian Airlines were integrated into the LH group and we no longer sold them for the second half of the year. We sold Air Baltic, Cyprus Airlines and Air Malta on behalf of a UK based GSA for a number of years but lost these accounts when the UK GSA opened up their own office
in Ireland this year – and the first half of the year saw many carriers chasing market share and selling at close to cost or below cost.” On the plus side, “the quality of service of the IAM portfolio of carriers, matched with our continual drive for improvement in our levels of customer service, as well a much focused sales drive, saw the yield for many carriers above the average market levels. Many
of the more sensitive exporters are pushing for quality above price as the importance of getting their goods to markets as planned is of greater value than some lower priced options.” The last quarter saw yields harden to levels not seen for at least two years, as capacity on many key routes was restricted. In early 2010 IAM were appointed agent for Egyptair in Ireland and the business grew by over 162%
over 2009.
McCool concludes: “The outlook for 2011 looks good with, for instance, American Airlines re- introducing their B767 aircraft on the Dublin-Chicago route in early April. Air Canada will also operate 6 x B767 on the Dublin Toronto route for the summer period. And China Airlines are now running three passenger services as well as three freighters per week.”
33 Airfreight is on the up again, says IAM
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