Unlike many of its peers, U.S.-based global logistics provider BDP International has seen air cargo demand soar this year, although the company’s bullish run has slowed as West Coast port congestion has been addressed. Senior Vice President of Global Air Freight at BDP Gary Phelps told FlyingTypers the company’s air cargo division had seen strong growth in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2014.
     “BDP experienced a robust global tonnage increase of 20.3 percent in chargeable kilos over the first six months of the year and a forty-six percent year-over-year increase in air exports from the Americas during the period due to the U.S. West Coast Port dispute,” he said. “BDP provided multiple charters of key raw materials to Asia and Europe from the U.S.
     “However, the global air market has recently cooled from June 2015 forward to the normal levels experienced in 2014.”
     According to Phelps, air to ocean conversion began in late May and will continue through October this year, after which some summer bellyhold capacity would be withdrawn. “The ocean less-than-container-load (LCL) market is seeing substantial global growth,” he said. “BDP customers can quickly and easily move between services based on their transit and cost requirements.”
     He also said that summer passenger wide-body capacity had pushed global spot market rates lower, which had affected only-cargo aircraft and passenger bellyhold rates, although demand for air cargo filling upper and lower decks had remained “significant.”
     Shifting gears to lower levels of air volume has seen BDP seek ways to provide more value to air freight customers by expanding its Unit Load Device (ULD) program on key lanes. “The intact ULD movements result in quicker transit and enhanced cargo handling,” he said. “Our expansion of ULDs from Europe to the U.S. and Asia will result in increased customer satisfaction. BDP's core carrier program has strengthened our global procurement and added customer score card improvements in landed cost.”
     Phelps expects air cargo volumes to begin ramping up in October and November to levels similar to those recorded in 2014.
     “BDP will focus on key gateway locations for further expansion of ULDs and service improvements” he said. “One example of expanded service is our e-freight technology. BDP has undertaken a global process to include e-Freight, which will be completed before 2016. We expect our global e-Freight technology to improve freight movement and cost structures and reduce paper tender.
     “This is being deployed with our core carrier group and will have a positive effect for our customers in 2016.”
     Looking ahead, he said BDP saw “positives” on the Trans-Atlantic west bound and above market growth on its U.S. air exports. “The U.S. dollar is strong and is reducing overall market growth for exports,” he added. “This trend will most likely continue through the spring of 2016.
     “We remain solution-focused with our customers being offered new Unit Load Device origins and destinations. This allows BDP to tender later and retrieve customer consignments earlier. In addition, handling is reduced and the cargo touch is an overall better experience. Our global gateway focus allows improvement with our customers’ wallet spend.”
     He also expects further growth to and from India in 2015. “We have a new, mixed ULD program that is going into production on October 1, 2015,” he said.
     “This new mixed ULD BDP ‘AirStar’ program from the U.S. to India will assist with intact movements, no splits of cargo, and reliable bonded destination delivery to the following airports: Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Madras. We anticipate Wednesday and Saturday departures from Chicago and New York for the new U.S. to India ‘AirStar’ program. Trials will begin this month followed by the full market launch.”
     BDP International is also taking a big step forward in Asia with the expansion of its IATA license holding stations. “We are expanding our presence at Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Saigon before December 31, 2015,” said Phelps. “Our global core carriers are lined up to support our 2016 expansion.
     “We expect our Asia airfreight strategy to fall in line with our key performance indicators. Growth will occur for BDP Asia to Europe and the U.S. Currently, Seoul and Singapore lead our airfreight charge in Asia. We will be making further 2016 expansions in Hong Kong and Shanghai with our Class A license.”
     BDP USA has also expanded its Air Import Gateways to include new ULD Services from Europe to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. “The new Air Import Gateways were developed by Director of the Americas Kevin Connor and started receiving cargo on August 1, 2015,” he said.
     “We expect our Americas imports to expand significantly in 2016. The initial market tests were performed from Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Director of EMEA Patrick Olyhoeck is leading our Trans-Atlantic expansion. In addition, we have added new team members to our global airfreight team, allowing us to keep pace with our growth. We expect further expansion of specialized air product team members in Asia and Europe.”
     He said the key challenges facing global forwarders in 2016 were managing capacity versus demand, dangerous goods handling, key vision and strategy formulation, and execution on service and yield management.
     “We are reviewing weekly capacity versus demand in our key global market sectors and working with our core carriers to expand tonnage and on time performance,” he said.
     “We look at e-Freight to manage our future regulations and customs interactions globally. This will provide BDP and our customers a competitive advantage in the market place. Global rates go up and down and track to jet fuel with the capacity versus demand factor adding or deleting margin.”
     BDP also plans to continue expanding. “We see big growth in the Middle East, India, and the countries participating in the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP)—Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
     “BDP is present in all TPP countries and we expect exceptional growth in airfreight.”Sky King

Latin Opportunity    Fifteen years ago, BDP and Colombia-based Interflex S.A. Group established a business relationship that only grew stronger over time.    In 2013 the two companies announced a partnership—a joint venture—that took the relationship to an even higher level. The company now operates as BDP International Colombia under a management team led by General Manager Enrico Benedetti.    The BDP offer includes air, sea, inland, project cargo, and more. Contact: enrico.benedetti@bdpint.com