freight requires convenient
ground transportation, a
good Customs clearance
environment, various port
qualifications, high quality
ground services and a perfect
route network. While enticing
airlines to open cargo routes,
the upgrading of cargo-related
packages is seen as the key
to ensuring the continued,
stable development of airport
freight. CHINESE
UPDATE
Integrators to the fore
In recent years, China’s air
cargo market has gradually
shifted from being airline-led
to becoming tuned to logistics
integrators. The key reason for
this change is that the freight
forwarder is encapsulating
the entire industry chain,
seeking long term competitive
advantage. SF Express and
Yuantong have expanded from
an express delivery business
to airline capacity and then
moved into airports and
warehousing; Alibaba and
Jingdong have expanded from
e-commerce to co-operate
with airlines to build a global
cargo hub; and Hongyuan
Logistics and other companies
are also taking advantage of
cross-border e-commerce and
the importation of live aquatic
cargo, and are carrying out
cargo charter flights across the
country. In 2019 the trend
that sees a single air cargo
body extending both upstream
and downstream within the
industry chain and forming a
logistics integrator is becoming
more apparent.
According to the latest data,
Chinese airlines operate 167
full cargo aircraft. The Boeing
747F/777F, with a large market
demand, accounts for 41
aircraft, with 38 of these owned
by Air China Cargo, China
Cargo Airlines, China Southern
Airlines and Suparna Airlines.
In the near future, Qingdao
Daotong and SF Airlines
plan to introduce large cargo
aircraft.
Potential new hub area
At present, mainland China’s
air cargo hub arrangements are
primarily concentrated in the
three major airport clusters.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei
then, the pattern of China’s
air cargo market will have
changed dramatically.
The future: more intense
competition
The development of air cargo
at airports in mainland China
in recent years has thus seen
a rare episode of polarisation.
The data released so far shows
that the cargo and mail
throughput of Jinan airport,
Wuhan airport and Xi’an
airport has increased by 20%
year-on-year; while Nanchang
airport has experienced an
astonishing growth rate of
58%. However, in contrast,
Pudong airport, Nanjing
airport, Tianjin airport and
Qingdao airport, stations
dominated by international
and regional goods,
experienced negative growth.
The development of airport
The latest five year plan will see extensive
investment in the GSE sector
airport cluster is centred on the capital’s airport. The Yangtze
River Delta airport cluster is focussed on Pudong airport while
the Pearl River Delta cluster is at Guangdong airport. The capital
airport’s cargo and mail throughput reached 2.07m tonnes in
2018, accounting for 86.2% of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei airport
cluster’s trade. The three major express logistics giants, namely
UPS, DHL and FedEx, account for most of Pudong airport’s cargo
and mail, while the annual average cargo and mail throughput
of Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports has remained above 1m
tonnes.
As a new powerhouse for national development, Daxing airport
will become an air cargo hub in northern China, relying on long
term development planning, an extensive transportation network
and advanced equipment and facilities. Then, the Beijing-Tianjin-
Hebei airport cluster will boast a dual core: Daxing airport and the
Capital air cargo hub, together with the full cargo advantages of
Tianjin airport.
In terms of logistics investment, the Yuantong Group intends
to pump CN¥12.2bn into the construction of a global aviation
logistics hub at Jiaxing airport, Zhejiang province; while the
Jingdong Group plans to build the Jingdong Logistics Air Cargo
Hub at Nantong airport in the Jiangsu province. These initiatives
will promote the rapid development of China’s air cargo
market. However, the core of the cargo hub of Pudong airport
in the Yangtze River Delta airport cluster seems unlikely to be
compromised in the shorter term.
On January 16 this year the project feasibility of SF Ezhou
airport, with a total investment of CN¥32bn, was approved by
the National Development and Reform Commission. Its terminal
area, trans-shipment centre and other facilities will meet the
2025 cargo and mail forecast of 2.45m tonnes. Furthermore,
the current projected runway/taxi-way system is designed to
meet the target of 3.3m tonnes by 2030. According to the SF
Group strategy and the transport planning of Hubei Province,
Ezhou airport has plans to build a comprehensive logistics hub
in Wuhan city that will integrate various transportation modes,
such as air cargo, road and railway. In the near future, China’s air
cargo market is expected to have a central China air cargo hub
supported by the core of Ezhou airport and other airports. By
42 October 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com