Wings of Change Newsletter October 2023

Consultancy launches suite of protocols
to guide air cargo development
SASI World has unveiled a comprehensive
set of protocols for airports,
airlines and on-airport operators to
process air cargo in the post-Covid
environment. Smart Cargo Airports, it
claims, ties together the latest technological,
environmental, regulatory and
operational elements on-airport that
are required for the introduction of
new and competitive airline products
https://theloadstar.com/consultancy-launches-suite-of-protocols-to-guide-air-cargo-develop-
ment/
Shipping-aviation split widens as
EMC sells more EVA Air shares
The split between Evergreen Group’s
shipping and aviation businesses
gained momentum as Evergreen Marine
Corp (EMC) announced it would
sell 50 million of its shares in affiliate
EVA Airways for $53m. EMC, the listed
part of the group’s shipping operations,
has 726,541,111 shares in EVA,
a 13.46% stake; selling 50m shares
would reduce its stake to 12.53%.
Taiwanese media has identified the
buyer as Chang Kuo-cheng, third son
of Evergreen founder Chang Yung-fa,
who died in 2016.
https://theloadstar.com/shipping-aviation-splitwidens-as-emc-sells-more-eva-air-shares/
Amazon doubles up on delivery
speed, but is not looking for air support
Amazon has unveiled plans to double
its same-day delivery facilities over
the coming years, but the air transport
sector will not play a significant role.
The e-commerce behemoth has been
in the vanguard of the push to nextday
deliveries, standard for Prime subscribers
pre-pandemic and signaled
ambitions to accelerate to same-day,
but lockdowns and subsequent surge
in volume forced it to step on the
brakes.
https://theloadstar.com/amazon-doubles-upon-delivery-speed-but-is-not-looking-for-air-support/
Germany and Italy splash out in a bid
to shift more cargo from road to rail
European governments are on a rail
spending spree – both Germany and
Italy have announced significant investment
and subsidies in a bid to
move freight from road to rail. Germany’s
Ministry of Transport has approved
additional cash to make up for
what the rail union EVG described as
“decades of neglect” of the rail network;
some €27bn ($29.5bn) being
funneled into grid maintenance and
digitization.
https://theloadstar.com/germany-and-italysplash-out-in-a-bid-to-shift-more-cargo-from-
road-to-rail/
UPS: ‘all hands on deck’ to retrieve
million parcels a day lost to rivals
After weaker results in the second
quarter, UPS has lowered its revenue
projection for the year by a whopping
$4bn, citing lost business and higher
costs. But management attributed
much of the decline in results to the
contract negotiations with the Teamsters
union, which represents about
340,000 UPS employees, the majority
of its workforce. This cost the integrator
about a million parcels a day as
customers shifted traffic to other operators,
worried a strike might hit their
deliveries.
https://theloadstar.com/ups-all-hands-on-deckto-retrieve-million-parcels-a-day-lost-to-rivals/
OOCL reports a ‘robust’ H1 performance
as demand see-saws
The container market is “very far from
being in disaster territory”, according
to OOCL parent Orient Overseas (International)
(OOIL). The Cosco subsidiary
posted what it called a “robust”
$1.13bn net profit for the half-year,
which compares with a $5.7bn profit
for the same period last year. OOIL
said the ships operated by its container
arm were currently “sailing full”
on the main tradelanes – although it
was “cautious” on the outlook, “given
the challenges and uncertainties
that abound”. Group turnover for the
first six months came in at $4.5bn, of
which $386,000 was contributed by
its logistics and supply chain management
services.
https://theloadstar.com/oocl-reports-a-robusth1-performance-as-demand-see-saws/
US container imports still on the decline,
but the slope is easing
Containerized imports into the US are
expected to break through the 2m
TEU mark in August, for the first time
since last October. But according to
the monthly Port Tracker, published
by the National Retail Federation
(NRF) in collaboration with maritime
consultancy Hackett Associates,
monthly volumes should slip back below
that threshold for the remainder of
the year. But at least the rate of yearon-year
decline is expected to shrink,
it says. Based on traffic projections at
major US container gateways, Port
Tracker forecasts 2.03m teu of import
cargo this month, 10.2% down on August
last year. But it is an improvement
over July, when an estimated 1.91m
teu entered the US, 12.7% lower than
12 months prior.
https://theloadstar.com/us-container-importsstill-on-the-decline-but-the-slope-is-easing/
Global disruption can open doors
for improved African supply chains
Supply chain diversification –
kick-started by rumblings in China-US
relations and exacerbated by the
pandemic and Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine – has presented an opportunity
for Africa. The UN’s annual Economic
Development in Africa report
this year highlights the potential for
the continent to capture a wave of
demand, as companies look to diversify
the way they move goods around
the world. Rebeca Grynspan, secretary
general of the UN Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCT-
AD), said: “Many companies across
the world are rethinking their supply
chain strategies in order to address
gaps and mitigate risks.”
https://theloadstar.com/global-disruption-canopen-doors-for-improved-african-supply-chains/
Industry Article
Wings of Change -7-