THE COST-EFFICIENCY FACTOR
Thomas Mack, Head of Global Air Freight at DHL Global
Forwarding, spoke on behalf of DHL.
“As we are currently in the quiet period, we are
not able to provide details about the fourth quarter
in 2019. However, what we can say for the fi rst three
quarters in 2019 is that the overall air freight market
remained weak. Coming from a plateau of high volumes
and short capacity in the air freight market in 2017 and
2018, the air freight cargo market in 2019 lost dynamics
because of a challenging market environment, with trade
of sustainability: we consider this as a key topic. In addition, in
this context we will be coming up with new propositions at the
start of 2020.
“In line with the market, we also had a challenging year
compared to 2018 in terms of fi nancial results. Nevertheless, last
year in May we proudly received the Cargo Airline of the Year
award during Air Cargo Europe in Munich. We see, based on
our surveys and on our positive market share development, that
customer satisfaction in general is increasing – and that is key
for us. We will keep on working hard and continue along our
roadmap, taking the next steps in terms of creating more value
for our customers for next year.”
Negatives and positives
Bert Nappier is President of FedEx Express Europe and CEO of
TNT. For him, 2019 was another year of political and economic
uncertainty in Europe, one that has obliged FedEx Express and its
customers to navigate a diffi cult trading environment.
“The uncertainty around Brexit in the UK and the impacts
on German exports from global trade tensions were two notable
examples. FedEx Express met these challenges in a number
of ways. We continued to be a strong voice for policies that
prioritise frictionless trade and reduce uncertainty for businesses.
We also stayed Brexit-ready throughout the year, ensuring our
teams and our networks were able to respond to any potential
changes in the trading environment. Finally, we invested heavily
in our strategic support for customers, many of whom have never
operated under different trading regimes and were concerned
about a No Deal Brexit.
“It was, though, another positive year for our global fl eet
modernisation programme, as we introduced new B767 freighters
into the European network. The new aircraft can carry up to
91,000 pounds of cargo, which represents an increase in capacity
of approximately 16% compared to the aircraft they replace. They
are also 9% more fuel effi cient than their predecessors, which,
combined with the higher capacity, reduces emissions by
21% per pound.”
FedEx’s European road network was also enhanced but
more interesting here was that e-commerce saw a continued
growth trajectory in Europe. “FedEx Express responded to
that with investment in our own e-commerce capabilities.
We expanded our retail presence across the region and now
have nearly 12,000 locations in place. We also made progress
on building a truly differentiated e-commerce proposition,
with a strong focus on cross-border e-commerce within
Europe and from Europe to the US and APAC.
“From a trade policy standpoint, we are looking to
2020 with cautious optimism. The political deadlock
around Brexit in the UK has eased, and we’ll be doing
everything we can to advocate for a future trading
relationship between the UK and EU that sets the best
possible trading conditions for businesses. US-China trade
tensions also appear to be easing, which we hope will
provide some relief in those European markets affected
by these headwinds. Beyond trade, the sustainability
tensions and geopolitical uncertainties. For the fi rst
nine months of 2019 we can say that Global Forwarding
- Freight nonetheless succeeded in markedly improving
profi tability, thanks to the consistent implementation of
cost-effi ciency measures.”
... we will be
coming up with
new propositions
at the start of
2020
Gertjan Roelands, VP Europe,
Air France-KLM Martinair Cargo
IAG Cargo declares that it was well equipped
to deal with market volatility
policy agenda will dominate
industry discussions and we
will play our part in meeting
the expectations of policy
makers, and indeed our
customers. Within our own
business, we will continue
our journey towards being
Europe’s premier logistics
business, with a ruthless focus
on service excellence, our
value proposition, technology,
e-commerce growth and
the best possible customer
experience.”
Innovation a-plenty at
Lufthansa Cargo
At Lufthansa Cargo, Andreas
Pauker notes that the last few
years have again shown how
volatile the airfreight business
can be.
“In view of the global
political implications, we
must therefore assume that
the market situation will be
challenging, at least in the fi rst
half of 2020. We want to offer
our customers the best possible
service, and in doing so we
are also counting on further
intensifying digitisation in our
industry. We introduced many
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2020 9
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com