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Issue 5 2019 - Freight Business Journal


trucks and then queue up to present


paper


documents. Information about consignments on board vehicles would be transmitted automatically to shed operators and handlers and hauliers would equally be advised of the most opportune time to present themselves and their vehicles. It would also put an end to having to endlessly print and scan pieces of paper. Thompson said: “We have a


great ambition to make release notes electronic instead of the Dickensian paper ones we have at the moment.” AIS is already live and about 30


forwarders, transit shed operators and hauliers are using it, including hauliers Jan de Rijk, Roy Bowles and Wallenborn; forwarders Davies Turner and DHL; and handlers including dnata and WFS. One enticement is a ‘blue lane’ for registered AIS users at some sheds that reportedly has cut truck waiting times from an hour to ten minutes or so. Jason Breakwell of airfreight


trucker Wallenborn said that his company had now replaced all


manual or email-based reporting with AIS. Thompson


readily admitted


however that AIS is a work in progress and that some issues remain to be resolved. The complexity of the airfreight process has thrown up many issues. While scheduling systems are used in other situations such as container ports, car plants or retailer distribution centres, airfreight poses some very specific challenges – for example, traffic slows fluctuate widely according to the time of day, week or year. The amount of dwell time for trucks picking up or collecting airfreight varies widely according to the number of pieces that need to be handled. The need for customs clearance can also add uncertainty over when cargo is available for collection. And, if a truck is making multiple


deliveries or pick-ups at a series of transit sheds at Heathrow, a delay at one can create knock-on delays at subsequent sheds. DHL Global Forwarding head


of transport Jamie Peacock told the gathering that one issue transit shed operators faced is that trucks essentially arrived ‘out of the


IATA and animal transporters to push new CEIV standard


The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Animal Transport Association (ATA) have joined forces to encourage industry adoption of Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) standards for live animals logistics. IATA has already adopted similar CEIV standards for pharmaceuticals and fresh produce. Under the terms of a


memorandum of understanding, ATA will encourage adoption of CEIV Live Animals among its members and ATA and IATA will continue to work closely to ensure ATA members are aligned with the CEIV Live Animal Program requirements. Both organizations will also collaborate to improve the handling and transport of animals worldwide and ensure access to adequate training.


blue’ with little advance warning, although his company was now able to give them 45 minutes’ notice through AIS – not a huge amount of notice, admittedly, but much better than nothing, he argued. One issue that needs to be


decided is the amount of manual updating of information such as expected times of arrival that hauliers could or should be expected to provide. Potentially, they could do this using a phone app, but it is hard to gauge how accurate this information would be provided. There is also a road safety issue to consider in exhorting drivers to use their phones at the wheel. Integrating participants’ systems


with AIS through APIs (application program interfaces) could however reduce the amount of manual inputting of data needed, but there would be a cost in terms of programming. As AIS could potentially


contain a substantial amount of information, ultimately it could help participants plan their operations better – for example, by avoiding the busiest times of day or week at the more congested locations. However,


ATA president Filip Vande


Cappelle, explains: “Information, education and training of people involved in animal shipping is an absolute requirement. To secure the highest possible welfare of animals in transport, one needs high standards all along the logistic chain. Thanks to IATA these standards are available and, rather than re-inventing the wheel, ATA has chosen to collaborate with IATA to get these standards implemented as widely as possible amongst our members through encouraging adoption of CEIV Live


Don’t forget freight, FTA tells rail review


The Freight Transport Association is pushing hard to ensure that the sector is not ignored by the ongoing Williams Review of the rail industry. It is calling for better processes to resolve competing demands between freight and passenger traffic and for the industry to be fully considered in any future reforms to infrastructure operator Network Rail. Head of multimodal policy Alex


Veitch told FBJ in an interview that in its contacts with the committee, led by former British Airways chief executive Keith Williams. FTA had called for a better process to allocate capacity between passengers and freight on the railways and for a new “best use of the network”


methodology that reflected the full social and economic impact of any decisions. He said: “Take the hypothetical


example of a passenger route that operates near a busy container port, where a freight operator may want to run a train but it cuts across a very lightly-loaded passenger service.” He said that it was “frustrating” that there was no open discussion about the pros and cons of interrupting a passenger operator’s schedule to allow an important freight train to run, taking into account the actual loadings of the service concerned.” More flexibility in passenger trains contracts could release important capacity for freight, Veitch said,


adding: “We need a practical solution; at the moment, it’s very hard to change things on rail.” Veitch agreed that the ultimate


solution to any conflicts would be to build more track capacity, but that would take time and money and the rail industry would meanwhile have to continue to grapple with pinchpoints. It was also important to manage


improvements to the network in a sensible way, the planned upgrade to the Transpennine route being a case in point. At the moment, the plan is to electrify the route, mainly for the benefit of passenger trains, with enhancements to allow high-cube containers


scheduled for a second phase. However, FTA


it is not envisaged that it would allocate compulsory slot times to hauliers, at least not in its current manifestation. This approach was briefly attempted in a system at Frankfurt airport but proved to be unpopular with hauliers and was quickly dropped earlier this year. Many seaports have also imposed slot times on hauliers dropping off or picking up containers. Indeed, the short-lived Frankfurt airport system was based on soſtware developed for the port of Hamburg but airfreight truck dwell times are much more variable than the essentially repetitive process of picking up or dropping a single seafreight container and it would be difficult to devise accurate slot times, let alone impose them. CCS-UK stressed that AIS


would be an essentially voluntary system and hoped that as more companies came on board and as the quantity and quality of information increased, companies would come to realise its benefits. However, it is acknowledged that this is a chicken and egg situation; one transit shed operator has reportedly said that they would not use AIS until around 90% of haulier information was included.


Animals.” ATA is also encouraging its


members to create CEIV Certified communities. Filip Vande Cappelle added: “By creating communities between our members, we can combine a number of stages in the CEIV Live Animal process which results


in better collaboration


between supply chain members, a commonly accepted standard and a considerable cost saving for the participants. We are convinced that this will highly benefit the welfare of animals being shipped and reduce the number of incidents.”


argues that it would be far less disruptive – and, possibly, more cost-effective – to carry out all the enhancements in one go. He continued that any changes


to the way publicly-owned infrastructure operator Network Rail was run needed to take into account freight needs. Efforts to allow more local control over the development and operation of the network should not be at the expense of creating a patchwork of different regions and boundaries for freight operators to negotiate. Also: “we are very nervous about Network Rail being corporately joined to a passenger operator, a vertical integration, whatever legal or regulatory safeguards might be offered. That could be a disaster for freight.”


News Roundup


Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani has announced £40,000 of funding for expanding the Why Shipping Matters schools programme and extend it to secondary schools, as part of the Maritime 2050 programme. The lessons, developed by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, aim to raise awareness of the maritime sector and the importance of shipping. Pupils will learn how to make a compass and be taught how they allow vessels to navigate around the world as well as understanding the values of commodities that are shipped across the globe.


CEVA Logistics and its new parent company CMA CGM have launched a new service between Thailand and Laos for ocean freight containers used by customers in both countries. Importers can drop off their empty containers at a newly expanded CMA CGM container depot, operated by CEVA, outside the Laos capital, Vientiane, avoiding the need to send them back empty to the Thai port of Laem Chabang. Ceva Logistics opened an office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 27 May.


The CMA CGM Group has ordered 50,000 Traxens trackers. They monitor the container’s position, both at sea and on land, the intensity of any shocks that may occur, opening and closing of the doors and external temperature variations.


Hapag Lloyd unveiled its new ‘LIVE’ real-time GPS location, temperature information and power-off alert system at the Transport Logistic show in Munich on 4 June. The line will eventually equip its entire 100,000-strong reefer fleet with the system.


APM Terminals has invested in two new Liebherr LHM 550 mobile harbour cranes at its West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) in Onne Port, eastern Nigeria, due for deployment in July. WACT has already invested around US$2.5 million in ten purpose-built terminal trucks, three reach stackers and an empty container handler. WACT has also invested in a new container freight station at Onne, to help local farmers with export goods such as cashew nuts and sesame seeds.


Boulogne Calais says it has become the only European port to obtain quadruple ISO certification for all its sites and activities. It has just obtained simultaneous certification of its management systems in the fields of Quality, Environment, Health and Safety at Work and, finally, Food Safety. It now meets the international standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 22000.


ABP Hull has taken delivery of a new hybrid Liebherr harbour crane. The £3.5 million machine will support Thor Shipping & Transport’s recent growth in business allowing it to work on two vessels simultaneously. ABP has also purchased two new Bromma container spreaders that will attach to the crane, and Thor has ordered two Kalmar reachstackers to ensure efficient operations.


DP World London Gateway has set up a taskforce of suppliers and local businesses to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic being used in their supply chains. It has already secured agreement from 21 of its suppliers to help eradicate unnecessary plastic use and it is engaging with a further 23 suppliers, urging them to do the same.


Stena Line relocated the Belfast terminal for its Heysham Service to Albert Dock/Ballast Quay for about six months from 14 June to allow preparation work for its new E-Flexer ships to take place.


The Container Owners Association has published a Guide to Container Tracking and Telematics Technology. It gives an overview of the technology issues and the choices available, including the evolution from ‘wired’ to ‘wireless’ and associated complexity, tracking dry freight containers, including data flow, communication frequency, battery life and installation cost, power consumption, sensor technology requirements and compatibility with vessel partners and API. https://www.containerownersassociation.org/technical-resource/it- and-telematics/


///NEWS Sea


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