Change Needed Urges CNS Chairman
At
the big CNS Partnership Conference in Las Vegas a sobering warning was
delivered by outgoing CNS Chairman Guenter Rohrmann.
Mr. Rohrmann who has served at his post
for the past six years told the agthering:
“It is time for air cargo to realize
that we need to develop, in conjunction with our customers a more sustainable
way of pricing in our business.
“A key thought that I want to share
with you is the fact that the world has changed.
“I realize that this will hardly come
as a shock to most of you who are probably thinking so what?
“The world is constantly changing,
but in a cyclical industry such as ours it is all too easy to use the
background of constant change to justify doing nothing.
“Our industry has become rather good
at this, and today I believe many of our underlying problems stem from
an inability to act in a timely manner to real changes in our operating
environment.
“In more than half the world freight
forwarders are still obliged to live under an industry regulatory regime
that does not recognize the true role they play, nor the true value they
bring to the air cargo industry.
“It is time for the airlines to work
with us to develop a global partnership program that effectively serves
the needs of both parties.
“Before anyone accuses me of forwarder,
bias, I should add at this point that the forwarding industry also needs
to recognize the new reality–airlines are no longer immune to the
needs to be profitable, as many once were when they flew as flag carriers
for their respective countries. By commoditizing their offerings and driving
prices down to in some cases below break even levels we are placing our
supply chain partners in a perilous position.
“Neither forwarders nor our customers
stand to benefit if we end up driving our capacity providers out of business.
It is time for us to also realize that the world has changed, and that
we need to develop, in conjunction with our customers a more sustainable
way of pricing in our business.
“Please don’t think that all
changes are negative – one benefit that has come from the financial
difficulties of the airlines in recent years is a recognition of the contribution
that cargo can make to the overall financial health of an airline. Within
passenger carrying airlines the cargo department is generally a much more
valued entity than it was five years ago.
“That recognition translates into
better access to resources, including improved IT systems and even additional
air freight capacity. If as an industry we can deliver sustainable improved
profitability we can expect to see airlines become even better equipped
to meet the demands of our joint customers in the future.
“Positive change is being recognized
within IATA.
“A key industry organization that
for many years only paid lip service to our part of the business, IATA
has recognized that its world has changed.”
Keynote speaker Scott Dolan,
President United Cargo called for greater industry cooperation and increased
IATA attention to the challenges of air cargo.
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