FBJ 4 FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL


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CIRCULATION


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By Chris Lewis


An aviation analyst recently described the 747-400 freighter as the real hero of the Covid-19 pandemic – and while we hold no particular brief for this aircraſt type alongside other worth contenders like the 777F, the venerable MD11F or indeed the numerous passenger planes that have been pressed into cargo service - it is inconceivable to imagine how we would have coped without the contribution of airfreight operators. That notwithstanding, the aviation industry faces a very uncertain future, even when the world returns to something resembling normality. Serious fi nancial damage has been done to the world’s airlines and it remains to be seen whether the general public will fully regain its appetite for jetting off to the far corners of the world on business or holiday trips. Prior to the crisis, the all-cargo aircraſt faced an uncertain future. While the type is important to the express parcels industry and for the specialised heavyliſt sector, there are only a relative handful of freighters operated by scheduled airlines around the world. In Europe, Air France KLM and Luſt hansa are virtually the only major carriers with freighters on their books and even they had been whittling down their fl eets. Could – and should – the governments of the world consider taking steps to ensure that a cash-strapped airline industry doesn’t wholly exit the all-cargo business? Maybe not through outright subsidy, but perhaps other encouragement such as tax breaks? You never know when a freighter will come in handy.


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Somehow, the Covid crisis failed to bring the Brexit process completely to a halt in Spring, although the progress of talks – by video link, naturally – has not been exactly lightening. The third round of the discussions between the UK and EU were reported to have made little progress in mid-June with both sides naturally blaming each other for the lack of progress. Optimism that a fi nal agreement could be reached was fading. The UK’s position remains that it will withdraw from the Union on 31 January, and that it will not extend the transition period beyond that date, despite the many issues that remain to be resolved. Now is the last chance to extend the deadline, although Boris Johnson is adamant that he does not wish to extend the process. But these are exceptional times and only the most fundamentalist Brexiteer would blame him if he asked for a little breathing-space but that seems not to be the PM’s way of thinking. It’s hard to believe that, if cross-Channel traffi c has returned by then to anything like it’s normal level, how anything other than a cursory examination of documentation or other credentials can be made to work without bringing the whole country to a halt.


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The Corona crisis has leſt little space in the press and online news for any good news about the industry – or indeed, news of any sort that is not directly related to the pandemic and its eff ects. But look hard enough, and there are a few stories. Ireland has its fi rst deep sea liner service to the US for almost as long as anyone can remember; German forwarder Dascher has started work on an important new hub; and Europa is making rapid progress with its new Corby site. In the forwarding and logistics sector, Belgian-owned Ziegler has offi cially opened a new UK base at London Gateway while Davies Turner has a new Netherlands partner in Mainfreight. Brussels continues to vote on important new legislation such as the EU Mobility Package that will govern important matters such as posting of drivers in road transport, driving times, breaks and access to the international road haulage market. So life does go on, albeit not with the ease and at the pace at which we would like, but it gives hope for the future when lockdown fi nally ends.


As with any abnormal situation or disruption, there have been winners and losers in international freight, and the current corona crisis is no exception. Perhaps one of the biggest winners – at least relatively – is long-distance rail freight. With shipping lines ‘combining’ sailings (that is, cancelling them) and most scheduled air services withdrawn for the duration, many forwarders have turned to China-Europe rail services to keep freight moving. With the trains off ering a lower-cost option than air, but with not unreasonable journey times of around three weeks or so door to door, many have been pleasantly surprised and some have said that they may keep at least a proportion of their business on rail when the crisis is fi nally over. Others have turned to trucks and discovered that, despite the numerous obstacles that still exist to cross-border operation, journey times of between two and three weeks can be achieved.


FBJ boasts the most informative and authoritative source of information with unrivalled in-depth knowledge of the rapidly changing freight business environment.


As the defi nitive publication within the sea, air, road and rail freight sectors, each issue includes regular news and analysis, in-depth coverage discovering the business decisions behind the news stories, shipper and exporter reports, opinion, geographical features, political and environmental issues.


If you have any stories or letters which should be of interest or any feedback on FBJ, please contact our editor Chris Lewis - +44 (0)208 6450666 chris.lewis@f j-online.com


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However, many other operators will continue to value the speed and security that seemingly only airfreight can off er.


Is there any limit to what can be achieved online, with the latest in Internet technology? Business meetings, political negotiations – both domestic and international – TV interviews and education and training; these are just a few activities that have been able to carry on with the help of the smartphone and laptop computer. Those involved in customs clearance have of course long known that there’s no need to have a physical presence in the port of arrival, although being close by can have its advantages when diffi culties arise. Slightly less successful, perhaps, have been the attempts to replicate the good cheer and bonhomie of our local pub in peoples’ front rooms – either because transmission over the ether dulls the wit of the repartee or perhaps the quality of the beer, or both. Be that as it may, there will be many people who will stick with the new way of doing things. The vast acres of offi ce space that every company used to need to carry out its business may soon become redundant.


The tearing-down of a statue of an 18th Century slave merchant in Bristol by a group of (as far as I can tell from the fi lm footage, largely white) protestors led the authorities to reconsider the position of dozens or even hundreds of similar monuments up and down the country. I must say, I’m in two minds about this. For one thing, why do people in power in this country, having lived with the ‘problem’ for centuries, only jerk into action when prompted by acts of violence - which is tantamount to condoning them. Also, future generations might be better served by having the statues remain in place and asking questions about who they were and how they came to be revered – or, more to the point, rich – enough to be memorialised. By the same logic, you’d probably demolish the Tower of London on the grounds of Norman brutality. There’s no denying that the slave trade was an evil episode in the history of this country, arguably the Nazi Holocaust of its day, but its legacy goes much further than a few statues. The uncomfortable truth is that the prosperity of ports like Liverpool and Bristol, the pre- eminence of London as a trading centre - the whole economy pretty much - were built on foundations of slavery, which cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced many, many more. Its monument is all around us.


Issue 4 2020 - Freight Business Journal From the Editor


///NEWS


FBJ is the only UK and one of the few pan-European Multimodal newspapers. The comments we have received prove there is still room for a hard copy publication within the freighting industry. You don’t have to look at a screen all day!


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