Transport and logistics
Moving targets Shifting seafood by land, sea and air has become more challenging BY SANDY NEIL
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his month we look at transport, and the problems and solu�ons of moving salmon by road, sea and air amid the turbulence of Covid-19 and Brexit. What other trouble could be lurking over the horizon? During the pandemic, the Sco�sh Salmon Producers Organisa�on (SSPO) said export sales of Sco�sh salmon were hit hardest by the closure of food service sectors in vital markets like the USA, EU and China, plus a lack of long-haul passenger flights to these des�na�ons, and a consequent spike in freight charges. A lot of freight, including perishable goods like fresh salmon and seafood, is carried in the belly of passenger aircra�, but without that airliner capacity, the cost of ge�ng produce air freighted on a cargo plane soared. In April 2020, the first month of a UK lockdown and travel restric�ons, it was es�mated 8,500 aircra� were parked, with only a quarter of the global capacity in opera�on. Passengers at Edinburgh Airport plummeted from 250,000 a week to as few as 200. That month, per kilo, air freight rates went up around ten-fold. Airfreight rates are expected to remain elevated in 2021 as the demand outlook remains uncertain, and belly capacity is slowly re-introduced into the market. Wri�ng in a Bal�c Exchange market update earlier this year, Bruce Chan, vice president – global logis�cs at investment bank S�fel, said a lack of bellyhold capacity would drive high rates, as passenger airlines will only slowly reintroduce interna�onal widebody services. “By the second half of 2021, we do an�cipate passenger flights to resume, especially as vaccina�ons pick up,” he said. “But we cau�on against over-exuberance, as the first flights to come back are likely to be short-haul, domes�c, and leisure, which align less favourably with cargo. Core long-haul interna�onal travel and the belly capacity that comes along with it will be slower to return, in our view, so capacity relief for cargo should lag the recovery in airline passenger ac�vity.” The predic�on was borne out in June, when Chan reported: “Supply was
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Supply was the big story last year
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the big story last year, and it is s�ll an issue as slow vaccine rollouts in certain parts of the world and resurgent variants of COVID have kept a lid on long-haul belly capacity. Moreover, in contrast to the leisure-focused domes�c market, business travellers make up a significant por�on of the transcon�nental passenger cohort. There may be secular trends favouring a slower return there, such as conserva�ve human resources policies, new digital tools to facilitate virtual mee�ngs, and a desire to preserve some of the travel and entertainment opera�ng cost savings from 2020. “For many, the ques�on remains: where will rates go? Put simply, we believe that current sup-
Left: Edinburgh airport
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12/07/2021 14:25:35
