Imports Pace Thai Cargo

     A weaker U.S. Greenback this year is seeing softer than expected exports from Thailand, but one leading executive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport says imports are, quite literally, flying.
     Stewart Sinclair, Senior Vice President Asia and Managing Director of Bangkok Flight Services, a JV between Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Bangkok Airways, tells Air Cargo News that so far in 2011 export volumes have been lower than expected, but imports are up by around 40 percent year-on-year.
     “The import rise is mainly currency driven,” says Sinclair. “We’ve also had some increased manufacturing, which has seen car parts shipped in and then cars exported by sea around the region.
     “This is because auto manufacturers in Thailand have increased assembly capabilities. For example, BMW used to assemble its ‘3’ series here. Now they do the ‘3’ and the ‘5’ series so there are more components arriving.”
     BFS provides passenger, ground and cargo handling services to 46 airlines in Bangkok at its 55,000 square meter cargo terminal and had an annual throughput of some 280,000 tons in 2010, a 30 percent year-on-year increase.
     Around 16 percent constituted increased volumes for existing customers, explains Sinclair, a 19-year veteran of the WFS group.
     “Another 14 percent was new business - some of this was new airlines to Bangkok, and some was airlines switching to us.”
     Exports have been poorer than anticipated this year from Thailand, however. “We’re off about 8 percent from our projections, although our total volumes are up compared to 2010 because of the new customers we have attracted,” he says.
     “I’d expect export levels to continue like this throughout the year now.”
     Another reason for the bearishness of export growth, says Sinclair, was the March 11th tsunami that devastated parts of Japan. “We have a big base of auto business in Thailand and that’s slowed down because there’s not been much re-export,” he explains.
     “But also the global market has softened on exports, not least because the Baht is about 13 percent up on the U.S. dollar over the last 12 months.”
     Weaker export demand has been compounded for airlines by increased capacity ex-Asia, which has impacted rates. A year ago, ad hoc rates out of Suvarnabhumi were at the $5.5-6.5/kg level, now sources put them at closer to $3.5/kg, a figure around 10 percent lower than in Singapore or Hong Kong.
     BFS has won a large share of the new capacity now using Suvarnabhumi. Since last summer, the company has signed up China Cargo Airlines, which runs six-eight freighter flights a week using a B777 and an MD 11, Aerologic operating B777s five times a week, and Hong Kong Airlines with 11 weekly A330 passenger flights and six A330 freighter flights a week to Hong Kong.
     “We don’t anticipate getting any additional freighter operators this year,” says Sinclair, “but we may pick up one or two additional passenger operators.
     “But after 30 percent growth last year, and 16 percent extra the year before in new business, we’re about where we want to be in the market right now.”
     BFS is, however, fully geared up to handle any extra export traffic for the U.S. that might come its way after the proposed introduction of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new December 31st deadline for 100 percent inbound air cargo screening.
     Many airports in SE Asia – and indeed China – have not been audited by the TSA, but Sinclair says BFS is ready to go with the new rules immediately.
     “We don’t have a huge amount of U.S. destination traffic. But we can do all the screening at the terminal. We have been audited and operating this for the last three years.
     “The difference here is we deal with all cargo at house airway bill level, so we’re building 100 percent of the units in our facility.
     “Most other airports are dealing with units so if they’re not pre-screened, they have nothing to screen it with and they have to break it down and rebuild.”
Mike King

Skies Brightening For BRU Cargo

     Brussels Airport has had to make up for a ‘double dip’, initiated by the demotion of its DHL operation from a European to a regional hub status and–just as a new course to recovery was set—the global crisis that hit the industry extremely hard. The DHL move reduced Brussels cargo tonnage from 783,727 tonnes in 2007 to 661,143 tonnes in 2008. Due to the crisis the volume slipped back to 449,132 tonnes in 2009. 2010 seemed to announce that happy days were here again, with 476,000 tonnes.
     However, the first quarter of 2011 compared slightly unfavourably to 2010, due to the discontinuation of a number of ad-hoc charter flights operated by Korean Air Cargo last year. Recently Korean announced that it would increase its frequencies to the Belgian airport from 4 to 9 flights a week, as a result of the new air services agreement between Belgium and South Korea. Another piece of good news is that the integrator traffic (DHL) is on the rise again. It should also be stressed that all these figures represent a reflection of the flown cargo only.
     Brussels Airport also seeks to enhance its status as a perishables hub, supported by Brussels Airlines. At the Air Cargo Africa conference in Nairobi this past February, Brussels Airlines and specialized handling company Adelantex announced their 'fresh-to-shelf'’ product. Adelantex runs the 3,800 m_ Brussels perishables Centre and handles about 94% of the inbound perishables traffic at Brussels Airport. Adelantex is also involved in the handling of the Iberia feeder freighter that is to connect Brussels with Madrid three times a week with a B737 freighter. Northbound the aircraft brings in perishables originating in Iberia’s vast Latin-American network.
New cargo vision
     In October last year, The Brussels Airport Company announced another step in its commitment to the air cargo industry, by setting up a new Cargo Business Unit, staffed by four dedicated people and headed by Piet Demunter. The new BU is to pave the way for a new chapter in the Brussels Airport’s cargo strategy, which, according to the private enterprise, in the past was anything between uncoordinated and lacking.
     If anything, Brussels Airport is vying to transform its cargo village into a ‘Brucargo Secured Gateway’, in which security could be paired with seamless logistic operations. The Flemish Institute for Logistics (VIL), supplied the concept, which suggested a phased and layered approach. Within the cargo community hopes are high that the recommendations will eventually be put to reality. That Brussels Airport has adopted a new cargo vision, is also visible in various infrastructure projects.
     As for the improvement of the accessibility of Brucargo, a new fly-over is under construction to connect the E19 motorway exit directly to the freight zone, eliminating two crossings. At Brucargo itself the expansion programme Brucargo West, which had been put on hold due to the crisis, has been revived. In the
‘old’ Brucargo zone the first phase of an extensive refurbishing project has been launched.
Marcel Schoeters

Big Chill In Mumbai

     Air cargo from Indian airports has witnessed rapid growth in the last five years: international cargo is seeing a growth of 10.5 percent while domestic is around 25 percent. According to figures from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the overall growth has been around 15.3 percent. The forecast for the next ten years points out that the growth for international cargo would be around 9.6 percent while domestic cargo would be 11.7 percent, while the overall growth is forecasted at 10.47 percent. In such a situation, international airports around the country are looking out for world class air cargo handling service providers.
     International airports at Mumbai and Delhi will soon have world class cargo handling services. Incidentally, private players operate both airports, and the cargo handling is provided by Cargo Service Center India (CSC India). Led by seasoned professional Radharamanan Panicker, CEO, (right) and backed by a team of more than 700 trained staff, CSC hopes to bring about a sea change in the handling of air cargo business. Committed to providing world class services, Panicker pointed out that CSC was keen to provide services that would be “unlike other handling companies. We provide total cargo handling solution – physical, document and information handling. We do not rest on our achievements, but constantly keep raising the bar and keep innovating.”
     The first facility designed, developed and built is the 2,000 square meters Perishable Cargo Terminal at Mumbai airport. Catering to perishable and temperature-sensitive cargo, CPC will be capable of processing and handling 40,000 MT-45,000 MT of cargo per annum.
     “The new Center,” he said, “will aim at restructuring the basic cool chain logistics approach to achieve a quantum leap as far as performance is concerned.”
     The facility at Mumbai airport is on a ‘Build-Operate & Transfer’ concession from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to CSC for a period of five years. The project will be completed in two phases. The first phase, comprising 1,844 square meters, has been completed and is in the process of commissioning. The second phase has provision of ULD storage of 400 square meters for the storage of 20 ULDs. In addition, the facility will have a non-sterile Customs and operational area of around 430 square meters and a sterile area of 1,400 square meters.
     “The new Mumbai facility will provide seamless handling of perishable cargo and be a one-stop shop for perishable cargo handling. While the Center will have a processing capacity of 40,000 tonnes, there will be temperature monitors installed at all strategic locations, which will capture temperature and will attach it to product AWB information,” said Panicker.
     The second facility will be the massive 70,000-square meter Greenfield air cargo complex at Delhi airport. Comprising two terminals, the complex, entailing an investment of $80 million, will have the capacity to handle close to a million MT of cargo when fully completed. The first phase of the project is expected to be ready by the middle of 2011. The project is scheduled for completion by March 2012. With a high degree of automation, the facility will be able to handle all types of cargo: general, perishable, express, valuable and dangerous goods as well as live animals for both international and domestic sectors under an integrated terminal concept.
     CSC’s expertise with perishable goods goes back a long way. The company has been maintaining the operations of the Center for Perishable Cargo at IGI Airport for more than eight years now. Ever since the company started providing services, the tonnage of fresh produce export from the airport has risen: today it hovers around 24,000 tonnes per annum from the 6,000 tonnes earlier.
      According to Panicker, “CSC is able to integrate the cool chain while providing superior quality service to its customers in handling PTSPs (Perishable and Temperature Sensitive Products).” Panicker is firm in his belief that new technologies help maximize the business potential of customers. “At CSC we are keen to bring macro-level standards in technology to India and we put it to use to give the perishable commodities a perfect quality in temperature control and to give customers a powerful boost to productivity,” he said.
     The company has also made investments to develop its Information technology base, which will provide EDI connectivity links with more than 100 airline systems, enabling easy accessibility of data and real time monitoring of all its activities.
     CSC India started operations in Mumbai in 1995 as a fully owned air cargo-handling subsidiary of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. It was the first cargo handling company in India to offer complete air cargo handling and security handling services to any airline.
      Today, KLM has divested 51 percent of CSC to Tushar Jani, (left) presently Chairman of CSC, and Khushroo Dubash. Jani was a founding member of Blue Dart Courier Services, and the founder Chairman of Blue Dart Express Limited and Blue Dart Aviation Limited.
     In addition to the air freight facilities at Mumbai and Delhi, CSC is actively developing Air Freight Stations with the Container Corporation of India (Concor) at five of their Inland Container Depots. The first of these Air Freight Stations is ready for business at Ahmedabad while the second is scheduled to open at Mumbai. These Air Freight Stations will provide all airport-related activities like export and import cargo processing and handling and will help reduce congestion at Mumbai and other airports. The company also manages the Express Cargo Terminal for the Express Courier Industry at Mumbai and Delhi.
Tirthankar Ghosh

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