ABU DHABI, UAE \u2014 Optimism has come to air cargo.
\nIt\u2019s not often that an IATA World Cargo Symposium starts off with a positive message about the industry, but in yesterday\u2019s opening address, IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said he wanted to \u201cshare an optimistic view, which is far too rare in the air cargo industry.\u201d
\nIn his first-ever \u201cState of the Industry\u201d address as Director General, de Juniac said the industry that had been \u201cflat-lining\u201d for years now has reason to feel confident about its growth prospects.
\n\u201cAfter several years of virtually no good, we are starting to see demand pick up,\u201d de Juniac said.
\nAlexandre de Juniac
\nFreight volume, he said, began to grow in the second half of last year, and has accelerated since then, eventually totaling a 7 percent increase over the same period last year.
\nHe also said it was appropriate to be meeting in the United Arab Emirates, as it is part of the crossroads Gulf region, where about 14 percent of the world\u2019s air cargo transits through on its way across the globe.
\nThe two positive forces that support industry growth have been the expansion of e-commerce, \u201cwhich depends heavily on air cargo,\u201d and the rise of specialized cargo, such as pharmaceuticals. E-commerce is growing at a \u201cdouble-digit rate,\u201d and that customers are now demanding \u201calmost immediate fulfillment of their orders,\u201d he said. As for pharmaceuticals, he said total global sales for the sector is expected to reach US$1.12 trillion by 2022, \u201ccreating a significant opportunity for air cargo.\u201d
\nStill, de Juniac acknowledged that \u201cwe are still in a very tough business\u201d with yields that are constantly under pressure with a growing number of passenger aircraft \u201cwith a belly hungry of cargo.\u201d
\nDe Juniac took a defiant stance against the rise in \u201cprotectionist rhetoric\u201d from some politicians, declaring that \u201caviation is the business of freedom.\u201d Free trade, he said, \u201cis at the heart of the role we play in globalization,\u201d and has lifted \u201cliterally hundreds of millions of people from poverty.\u201d
\nBy value, a third of the goods shipped internationally are by air cargo, he added. \u201cWe can be proud of the role global supply chain has played\u201d in reaping the benefits of globalization.
\nDe Juniac cautioned the industry to listen to its customers, especially when it comes to e-commerce and the shipment of time- and temperature-sensitive goods. He said most customer complaints come in two areas: 1) frustration over \u201ccomplicated and convoluted\u201d air cargo processes that \u201cbelong in the 16th Century\u201d and 2) the lack of \u201chigh-quality, cutting-edge services.\u201d As an example, de Juniac mentioned how long it has taken IATA to move forward on its e-freight initiative, which has been on the agenda for all 11 annual World Cargo Symposiums.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s taking much longer than we thought, but we are making progress,\u201d he said, segueing into the electronic air waybill (e-AWB) situation, which has reached almost 50 percent penetration. The goal for the end of the year is now 62 percent, and de Juniac thanked delegates for working hard to make that happen.
\nHe also called for a greater emphasis on quality of the goods being transported, not just on increasing the speed.
\n\u201cWe must not put all, or most, of our eggs in one basket on speed,\u201d he said.
\nThe e-commerce market has demonstrated how the industry must constantly innovate in areas such as real-time alerts, sensors and digital analysis of data \u201cthat allows us to respond dynamically to market changes.\u201d
\nThose interested in learning more about airfreight in 2017, should join us at Cargo Facts Asia in Shanghai, 25 \u2013 26 April. \u00a0To register, or for more information, go to\u00a0CargoFactsAsia.com
\n
\nSource: aircargoworld<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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