New Deal Forwarders . . .The late George A. Shipman (2010, age 73), was a management consultant and air cargo industry veteran (AA Cargo 25 years), with a particular wit and wisdom who for us in 1986 trained the spotlight on the cargo agent.      “Today the agent is perceived differently than in the past because he is functioning in a different role than before.      “By definition, the agent is the agent of an air carrier.      “Traditionally this definition drew a line between agent and consolidator.      “In the new environment, however, that line has proved to be as formidable as the Maginot Line.      “Consequently, the carrier who views the air cargo agent in a subordinate and plans his marketing efforts around that assumption, simply is not being realistic. The agent no longer is directing his primary effort toward promoting freight per se, but is functioning as a negotiator for the shipper,” George Shipman declared in 1986.

Saw Info Tech As Key 20 Years Ago . . . John Radziwill, who headed Radix Group International in 1997, disclosed that “within the orbit of Radix, computer utilization plays an increasingly vital role in maintaining a fluid distribution system on behalf of the exporting and importing community of which air carriage is an essential part.
     “My personal view is that the computer will continue to play an important role in the transportation industry.
     “Essentially, we are becoming a communications/logistics company.”

Here networking at the 1990 CNS Partnership Conference in Dallas are (L to R) first CNS President Jack Lindsay, second CNS President Anthony (Tony Calabrese), while original CNS Board Members Brian Barrow and Buz Whalen flank American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall.

The Need For Partnerships . . . Brian P. Barrow, Cargo Network Service’s (CNS) board member, stated in a 1991 editorial:
     “As the years wore on and the industry moved out of the piston-engine era and into the jet era and then into the widebody era, the reasons for mutual fault-finding and sniping grew more complex even as the industry expanded, gained in sophistication and started to show real muscle.
     “Still, while all this was building, there was indisputable consciousness on both sides that they were fated partners; they needed each other.
     “If not exactly Damon and Pythias, their interests coincided—at least up to a point,” Mr. Barrow declared.

Send Customs Just The Fax . . . In 1990 Joseph Le Louarn, regional director of Customs at Roissy, France, addressing a Manhattan audience of international traders, advised American shippers to his country to “lend speed to the transmission of information concerning the movement in order to free all or part of the shipment as soon as it is unloaded at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport.”      The official added: “If a consolidator can send by fax a copy of the master or house air waybill along with references which can be agreed upon at the start of the procedure, then there is surely some work we could do together.      “This is assuming there is a good working relationship among the U.S. consolidator, his representative in Paris, the airline, and customs authority.      “I am prepared to try anything toward this end.”

Emerging Forwarder Medium Well Done . . . Roger A. Haack, president, Greene Companies International, Inc. reported in 1985 that “an important new trend is developing in the United States air freight industry—the re-emergence of the medium-size cargo agent as a significant factor in moving goods overseas.”
     Noting satisfactory business conditions for his company until the latter 1970s, there was a turnaround with the advent of deregulation, giving “rise, among other things, to rate wars that enabled very large consolidators to gain control of increasing amounts of freight.”
     Haack cited observers who predicted that the only survivors of deregulations would be the giant multinationals. Nevertheless, he stated:
     “One sign that bodes well for the future of medium-sized forwarders is the general bottoming-out and increasing stabilization of freight rates which has put such companies in an improved competitive position, particularly with those shippers that place a great deal of emphasis on price.”

Growth Overcomes All Obstacles . . . David Abney chief operating officer – UPS and president, UPS Airlines in 2007, offered these words of change and challenge: “The air cargo industry has seen much change and many challenges in the past year.
     “There are the economic and regulatory pressures, security, and environmental concerns, rising fuel prices and ever-expanding supply chains made efficient with globalization and effective network management.
     “Despite these challenges, the demand for air cargo and express shipments has continued to grow—and is forecasted to keep growing to support global sourcing, production, distribution, and consumption.”

Vital Views Part I, Click Here.

Vol. 15 No. 64
All About Airplanes Pt. 3- How Port Columbus Partnerships Build Air Cargo
India Airports A-Poppin'
Chuckles For August 22, 2016 - Columbus Cartoons
Why Ohio