EDITOR’S
WELCOME
MISSION
STATEMENT
Summer time…
…and the living’s easy?
Summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere.
I know this because airports are crammed with self-loading freight;
but in place of the bleary-eyed suits that I normally encounter, it’s
screaming infants, harassed parents and often inappropriate casual attire.
But that’s only the passenger side of the business: what about cargo?
WorldACD suggests that revenues dipped by 15% year-on-year in June,
but that freight prices are rising. In turn, IATA’s most recent figures focus
on falling volumes, noting that capacity is somewhat subdued. Yet the
consumer continues to hover over the buy button on his screen or tablet,
prompting the likes of Amazon to invest further in fulfillment centres. Yes,
the trade war rumbles on but our geographical reports would indicate that
for most, this hasn’t had too adverse an effect.
The Middle East may well be entering another volatile phase in what has
been a volatile existence, but that isn’t to say that a barrel of crude is about
to sky-rocket. Indeed, IATA’s June report indicated that a barrel was pegged
at US$76, which was actually 11% lower compared to the month before.
And Brexit? The stay of execution probably means that little is going to
happen before October 31. This particular saga has been spun out since
June 2016 (yes, that long ago), and has given the media ample material for
speculation. Has consumer confidence been dented? Has spending been
reined in? Arguably not – and the UK, after all, is but one small part of the
global airfreight jigsaw.
To judge by some of the editorials that Air Logistics International has
carried this year, the operating environment remains a relatively positive
one, even if there have been a few headaches for forwarders and shippers
and logistics specialists. However, I’ve not read of any cargo carriers having
to park up in the Arizona desert in 2019, although I do know of half a dozen
passenger carriers that lowered their landing gear for the last time this year.
The living may be easy for some but as ever, the cargo arena defies a
straightforward summary.
Alwyn Brice, Managing Editor
ALI comes from the
same team responsible
for the well-established
titles of Ground Handling
International and Ramp
Equipment News. As
such, it builds on over
20 years of industry
experience and, with
a comprehensive and
skilled team of writers
based in both Europe
and the US, aims to bring
the reader up to date
with the world of air
transportation.
4 August 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com