DHL and Emirates SkyCargo drive e-freight agenda

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight forwarder of Deutsche Post DHL, and Emirates SkyCargo, the cargo division of Emirates airline, will partner to drive the e-freight agenda across their networks, to become the industry leaders in implementing it.

Both companies recognise the strategic value of e-freight; working in an electronic environment will bring enhanced operational efficiency and improvement to the supply chain.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) up to US $4.9 billion of annually industry savings could be generated by e-freight processes. And the environment will also benefit from the elimination of 7,800 tonnes of paper documents worldwide per year. This is the equivalent of eighty Boeing 747 cargo planes.

Michael Schaecher, Head of Global Airfreight, DHL Global Forwarding said: “Already today DHL Global Forwarding handles more than a third of all international forwarder-issued e-freight shipments. We will work with Emirates SkyCargo to ensure that driving e-freight volumes stays a key strategic program for us.”

E-freight is an industry-led project involving carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers and customs authorities. It aims to take the paper out of the air cargo supply chain, streamline processes, improve speed and reduce costs.

A number of factors contribute to these positive results: reduced cycle times of 24 hours on average, greater reliability and accuracy due to one-time data entry at the point of origin, and much better visibility in the online track on account of electronic documentation.

Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said, “Emirates is a huge advocate of e-freight and is already one of the leaders in the industry in actual numbers of shipment carried on the e-freight lanes. The benefits it has brought our business are enormous, which is why we are encouraging others to embrace it. E-freight is the future of our industry. By reducing paper and carriage of paper on aircraft, e-freight will help to reduce errors and increase accuracy. We believe by collectively engaging we can achieve better and coordinated results.”

FedEx raising ground shipping rates by net 4.9%

Reuters: FedEx Corp, the world’s largest cargo airline, said it would raise average ground shipping rates by an average 4.9 percent, effective 3 January.

The Memphis-based company, which expects an 11 per cent rise in this year’s holiday sales and its busiest day ever on 13 December, announced increases in September in its Express and freight rates.

In November, Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc said it would raise rates also by a net 4.9 per cent starting 3 January for ground packages, all air express and US originated international shipments. UPS and FedEx are considered indicators of US economic activity.

Aramex launches new sea route from China to Europe 

Aramex has launched a new Sea-Air route from China into Europe. The new service is a faster and a more cost-effective delivery solution for shipments between Asia and Europe.

Aramex will utilise Vancouver as a new transit hub thereby avoiding congestion in other cities. The company has also secured available ocean capacity from China as well as guaranteed airfreight slots from Canada into the UK, the Netherlands and France.

The Sea-Air service takes just 18 days, is appropriate for all products, and can meet increased demand while at the same time maintaining the balance between cost and time.

“In a constant drive to deliver the best value for our customers, we are aiming to provide a faster, more economical service for clients who require pre-Christmas delivery but are currently experiencing service delays through traditional routings,” said Jim Armour, UK Managing Director at Aramex.

“By working closely together to design this truly quality service, our teams in Canada, the UK, France and the Netherlands have created a new routing which will enable customers to receive their goods and meet their supply chain demands. Customers currently struggling to ship their freight out of China can rely on us to deliver an efficient solution,” he added.