WHO WAS WHERE: THE TOP TEN
FedEx came out on top in 2018, also having held the number one slot in respect of freight carried
in 2017. DHL Express Group slipped slightly, fi nishing up in the fi fth position; Lufthansa also
ceded a place, as did the Air France-KLM alliance, but both staying within the top ten. Cargolux,
however, dropped out of that hallowed number, ending up in eleventh position for 2018.
EUROPEAN
REVIEW
perishables or pharmaceuticals.
Electronic items and their
derivatives also constitute
a signifi cant part of our
shipments. There has also been
strong transatlantic demand for
automotive parts from Europe
towards the US.” Cargolux
invested in three B747-400
freighters during the review
period although they have not
actually joined the CV fl eet yet.
Hub developments
Cargolux’s handling is
performed at the Luxairport
Cargo Centre. “Our handling
partner, Luxair Cargo, has made
a number of improvements to
the warehouse in order to hold
the growing cargo volumes,”
she relates. “After a recent
expansion, the parking bay
can now accommodate 12
wide-body jets. A signifi cant
investment was made at the
beginning of 2018 to upgrade
and expand the stacker system.
The import offi ces at the cargo
centre were also re-arranged to
better streamline the inbound
trucking process.
“E-commerce was one
of the main drivers in the
strong demand the market
experienced over the past
two years. The surge that this
trade experienced is the result
of a recovering economy
and the rise of digitalisation
worldwide,” she explains.
“The question now is how this
trend will fare in the face of the
predicted recession.
“The global economic
consensus is that there is a
recession looming for 2020,
which could hit as early as
this year. With the coming
Brexit deal and the ongoing
trade wars, combined with the
market softening in the second
half of 2018, the industry
could experience a slow-down.
Cargolux remains cautious
about the market conditions
and their notorious volatility.”
Growth throughout the
operation
A spokesperson from FedEx
Express relates that the
company ended 2018 with yet
another record peak season,
growing composite revenue,
volumes and yields in each
transportation segment.
“In Europe we introduced
World Hub in Memphis. This
new around-the-world fl ight
gives 100,000 TNT customers
access to the FedEx network
in the US and Canada, with
consistent two-day transit
times for express shipments
compared with two to four days
previously. The B777 fl ight also
speeds up transit times from
Asia to Europe.”
Integration of the TNT
European hub was just one
success: continued investments
at Paris-Charles de Gaulle also
expanded capacity and saw the
introduction of new sorting
technology. “Once completed,
the new CDG facility will
boost package sorting capacity
by more than 40%. On the
roads, we have also increased
the speed of 175 lanes for TNT
Next Day Economy services,
improving effi ciency for intra-
European shipping. We also
continued to make investments
in our IT infrastructure.”
FedEx says that it is building
Europe’s premier logistics
business, and will continue that
journey through integration
and continued investment in
its network. “Our size, scale
We are
convinced that
digitisation will be
the most important
generator of
change
Gertjan Roelands
INNOVATION
TO THE FORE
An example of innovation is the
Document Management System at DHL
Global Forwarding, which has now been
deployed successfully in 45 countries.
This already covers about 90% of all of
air and ocean freight shipments. Every
month, DHL uses this system to process
some 3m freight-related documents,
roughly 75% of which are created and
administered entirely digitally. Everyone
in the DHL Global Forwarding network
has digital access to the Document
Management System; this speeds up
processing times for customs clearance
during transportation, for example.
a new B737-800 cargo aircraft
into our fl eet, the fi rst of its
kind in the world, which is
allowing retirement of legacy
aircraft and is leading to greater
reliability for customers.
We also celebrated the fi rst
anniversary of the B777 fl ight
from the TNT air hub in Liège,
Belgium, to the FedEx Express
22 February 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com