In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Editor Caryn Livingston speaks with Cathy Morrow Roberson, founder of Logistics Trends & Insights, about third-quarter foreshadowing of the 2021 peak season expectations. Q3 brought more strong earnings reports from major integrators benefitting from the hot e-commerce market. Freight forwarders also extended their prior solid performance, as the early Q3 avoided the typical summer slump due to global supply chain disruptions encouraging modal shifts to air. Combination carriers also saw some relief in Q3 earnings, as travel restrictions loosened and additional passenger flights — and bellyspace — returned to the market.

October saw the return of the International Air Transport Association’s World Cargo Symposium, rescheduled from March 2020 and relocated from Istanbul to Dublin, where around 800 delegates gathered to discuss priorities for airfreight.In this On Logistics episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Air Cargo World Editor Caryn Livingston about announcements made during WCS and the three themes of this year’s event: Digitalization, Sustainability, and Safety and Security. For coverage of WCS and the Daily Report, produced by Air Cargo World each day of the event on IATA’s behalf, visit the WCS section of our site at https://aircargoworld.com/2021-iata-world-cargo-symposium/. Listen as Roberson and Livingston review the highlights from the 2021 WCS in this Air Cargo World podcast.  

With the fourth quarter beginning this week, retailers are bracing for a flood of e-commerce orders — many of which will end up in the networks of UPS and FedEx on their way to holiday shoppers later this year. Express providers are also getting an early start, with peak surcharges, typically reserved for the holidays, in place throughout the pandemic and rising further for the traditional peak. In this On Logistics episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Nate Skiver, founder of LPF Spend Management. LPF Spend Management works with e-commerce and parcel shippers to locate shippers and services aligning with their shipping strategy and negotiate more favorable contracts. The discussion covers peak season surcharges, transportation capacity for parcels, and options for retailers struggling to secure capacity with big express carriers.

Washington-based logistics company Expeditors this month opened its Opportunity Knocks internship program to other companies hoping to launch their own version of the program. In cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the program supports interns just starting their careers, introducing them to Expeditors, logistics and the professional world more broadly. More than 90 of the program’s former interns went on to full employment with Expeditors. Now, Expeditors has made the program available to other interested companies.In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Editor Caryn Livingston speaks with Lenora Turner, director, Opportunity Knocks, and Jose Ubeda, senior vice president, Digital Solutions, at Expeditors, about the program’s objectives, track record and Expeditors’ move to share the program with other companies. Interested companies can find more information on the program here.

Throughout the past year, carriers and freight forwarders have partnered on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) initiatives to help reduce carbon emissions within the airfreight industry. While aviation currently accounts for roughly 12% of all carbon dioxide emissions from transport sources, according to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), airfreight stakeholders recognize that cargo growth comes with the responsibility to reduce its carbon emissions.In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Associate Editor Kelly Stroh speaks with Asok Kumar, executive vice president and global head of airfreight at DB Schenker, about SAF, sustainability initiatives and the current push to decarbonize the airfreight industry.For more on SAF and sustainability, see our full feature in the latest online issue of Air Cargo World.

The supply chain upheaval that began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is persisting through 2021 and has been recently exacerbated by the port and airport closures in China in recent months. Manufacturers and other shippers who may have previously relied on as-needed updates from their logistics partners are now taking a more active role to avoid transportation pitfalls and keep their products on shelves. In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Audrey Ross, in-house logistics and customs specialist at Orchard Custom Beauty, a cosmetics and personal and home care product manufacturer. The two discuss the changes in in-house supply chain management for major shippers, how to mitigate some impacts of the reductions in ocean, air and road capacity, and vulnerabilities in sourcing that will likely take years of planning and investment to correct.Listen as Roberson and Ross take a deep dive into these topics in this Air Cargo World podcast.The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine. 

In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Editor Caryn Livingston speaks with Cathy Roberson, founder of Logistics Trends & Insights, about the second-quarter results of major airfreight industry stakeholders announced in recent weeks.  With more earnings presentations to come through early August, the benefits of the current high rate, low-capacity market are clear as integrators continue to blow past records set in previous pandemic quarters. Not all operators are avoiding some of the pitfalls of pandemic operations, however.Roberson, a weekly columnist at Air Cargo World and the host of the On Logistics podcast, discusses how major integrators, combination carriers and freight forwarders are faring so far in 2021, expectations for the remainder of the year, and how the current strategies employed by airfreight operators may continue to evolve as aviation slowly returns to normal.

The recent surge in e-commerce amid the pandemic, alongside technology improvements for logistics, is driving demand for warehouse space in markets around the world, but availability varies widely by market. In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Melissa Alexander, vice president of the Industrial Services team at real estate company Foundry Commercial, about the high demand for warehousing space, the factors behind shortages in U.S. commercial real estate markets, and Alexander’s outlook on future demand and development in the space.While some growing metros are more development-friendly from a policy and geography standpoint, others may be constrained by local regulation, geography or less land available for development. Advancements in warehousing technology are also driving up customer expectations for warehouse features and capabilities, making some existing properties outdated by today’s standards. Combined, these factors are pushing warehousing prices up significantly from even five years ago.Listen as Roberson takes a deep dive into these topics in this Air Cargo World podcast.The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine. 

In this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo World,” Associate Editor Kelly Stroh speaks with Alexey Zotov, head of sales of AirBridgeCargo, part of Volga-Dnepr Group, about how the air cargo market has been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect on the carrier’s relationship with forwarders.  The pandemic has dramatically altered global supply chains, complicating not only capacity availability, but also the traditional ways in which carriers and forwarders cooperate. Consequently, the current state of forwarder-controlled charters, block-space negotiation and digitalization initiatives catalyzed by the pandemic could leave forwarder-carrier communication changed long after the world emerges from the pandemic. For more on how the pandemic has changed the carrier-forwarder relationship, see our full feature in the latest online issue of Air Cargo World. 

The increased focus on digitalization in air cargo during the pandemic is by now well established as logistics companies seek to become more agile and adapt to a rapidly changing global airfreight market. Legacy processes that relied on phone calls and emails are now too slow to accommodate shipper needs in today’s disrupted market.Years before the pandemic began, major forwarders began adopting transportation management systems (TMS), which allow logistics companies plan and optimize their freight flows across modes. But the abrupt changes in freight flows and demands during 2020 have reinforced the need for visibility into supply chains and are prompting more companies to utilize TMS as a foundational part of business planning.In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson speaks with Ron Lazo, vice president of professional services at Manhattan Associates, about technology trends and demands the supply chain solutions company is seeing.The On Logistics with Air Cargo World podcast segment explores air cargo logistics with analysis from regular Air Cargo World columnist Cathy Roberson of Logistics Trends & Insights. The podcast analyzes major trends affecting global logistics, including topics such as sustainability, e-commerce growth and M&A strategies, and changes in the global express market. On Logistics with Air Cargo World is brought to you by Air Cargo World, the leading air cargo magazine.