By Dan Muscatello
I
read with interest the recent interview
with Mike Webber on the state of the air cargo industry, and believe that
it sets an excellent context for the need to move forward.
Over the past 18 months, under the leadership
of The Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers and
Forwarders Association of America, a committee of expert stakeholders
in the air cargo industry, conducted a nationwide survey of air cargo
stakeholders, and prepared a whitepaper of findings and recommendations
focused on how the increasingly critical issue of air cargo throughput,
can be addressed. 400 of the top professionals from airports, airlines,
government, trucking, freight forwarders, customs brokers narrowed the
critical areas to five:
• Facilities
and Infrastructure
• Technology
and Automation
• Service
Standards
• Staffing
• Government
Policy and Regulation.
The survey results were reviewed and analyzed
by a multidisciplinary committee of public and private sector experts
and translated into a set of specific findings, impacts and recommendations
that demonstrate both the interconnectivity of the five areas and how
potential solutions should reflect this. The
primary recommendations included:
• Provide
Direct Public Sector Financial Support to Development Initiatives
• Develop
And Introduce a Universal Digital Electronic Tracking
Application:
• Review
and Upgrade Compensation:
• Institute
an Industry-wide Training Program
• Modernize
the SIDA badging process
• Implement
Consistent Policy Interpretation and Reinforcement
The full report “Safeguarding the
future of air cargo: its economic importance and critical need for investment”,
is in three parts: the first sets a context and serves as a primer, the
second summarizes the survey process and results, and the third presents
the recommendations, along with a suggested approach for implementation.
If we do not take action, we will see:
1. Further
delays to shipping time sensitive products (e.g. COVID 19 vaccine).
2. Escalating
costs for modernization of airport facilities and infrastructure
3. Policy
disincentives for private investment.
4. Adverse
impacts to the economy
5. Negative
impact on federal staffing and budgets
6. Higher
costs to all elements of the logistics chain from shipper to buyer
7. Increasingly
negative environmental impacts specifically carbon emissions
The $25 billion designated for Airports
under the Infrastructure Act, will provide little if any relief for air
cargo for several reasons:
• The Airports Council of North America
estimates a need for $115 billion in infrastructure investment over the
next five years, so the allocated $25 billion under the Infrastructure
Act would theoretically leave the airports with a $90 billion shortfall
after 2023.
• The allocated funds for airports
will be largely consumed for higher prioritized projects focusing on passenger
terminals, services and amenities, security, and safety. While this is
all appropriate, the remaining funds available for cargo and logistics
facilities and operations will be extremely limited.
• At mid to large-size airports, there
may be hundreds or even thousands of tenants, users and invested stakeholders,
whose time and costs would be greatly decreased by a communications overlay.
In many instances, the costs of acquiring and/or maintaining the necessary
technology may be prohibitive. Supplementing these costs through this
funding would allow greater participation, thereby reducing trucking congestion,
improving service levels, increasing staffing and customs efficiency,
extending building capacity, and reducing costs.
• Airports, airlines, and their partners
have lost billions of dollars over the past three years limiting their
capacity to make necessary modifications for the immediate future.
This proposed funding would be in addition
to the $25 Billion allocated under the Infrastructure Act. A target figure
of $3-$5 billion would serve as a substantial stimulus to private investment
as well as create enhanced throughput and cost savings throughout the
entire logistics chain. The allocation concept would be for states to
prioritize their needs and a national panel of public and private sector
experts review all requests based on established impact and impact-avoidance
criteria.
Support at the national level is absolutely
essential to safeguard this vital area of our national economy and we
ask for the support of you and your colleagues. It is important that your
readers and other stakeholders in the air cargo community review this
apolitical document and understand the challenges that we face. The link
to the paper and the Executive Summary are here.
Questions can be forwarded directly to me
at danm@dbmaviation.com.
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