ANA to consolidate cargo operations at Narita

All Nippon Airways plans to consolidate its cargo operations at Narita Airport next year as Narita International Airport Corporation announced plans to construct a new cargo facility, which will be leased by the airline.

Cargo Building 8, scheduled to begin service in October 2024, will have a total area of around 61,000 square metres, with some 38,000 square metres of warehouse space. Automation will be a key feature in the new facility, which will be equipped with

Airport

automated guided vehicles (AGVs) as well as automated racks to move unit load devices across the warehouse.

ANA is currently using six separate warehouses at Narita, and with the completion of the new facility in October next year, the airline will consolidate its cargo operations into adjacent locations Cargo Building No. 7 and the newly constructed Cargo Building No. 8. It will also expand its animal and valuables storage facilities to meet a wide range of transportation demands.

Hong Kong International’s air cargo volumes continue rebound

Cargo volumes at Hong Kong International Airport continued on its path to recovery in July as the airport recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.8 percent over the same month last year at 361,000 tonnes. Month-on-month, this represented an uptick of 1.7 percent over June as flight movements reached 24,030, up 7.4 percent over the previous month.

Records say exports contributed the most to the year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in July, up 12.6 percent, with traffic to and from North America, the Middle East and Europe seeing significant growth during the month.

Considering the last 7 months, cargo volumes at Hong Kong airport slid 4.2 percent year on year to 2.4 million tonnes, as the airport handled 142,840 flight movements, almost double the flights (94 percent growth) seen over the same 7-month period last year.

Swissport receives ISO certification at multiple airports across Spain

Swissport Spain received its ISO 45001:2018 certification from an independent accreditation body on 14 July 2023 for nine airports with 12 business lines across the country. This accreditation certifies the company as fully compliant with health and safety systems and regulations.

The ground and cargo handler has been operating in Spain since 2007. It now operates at 15 airports in Spain and manages five air cargo centers across the country with a total of more than 25,000 square metres of state-of-the-art warehousing space.

Swissport’s air cargo center at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport is certified by IATA’s CEIV Pharma, whilst the cargo facility at Madrid–Barajas Airport is expected to be certified within the near term. In September last year, Swissport Spain received the Ethical Management certification, an affirmation of the company’s pursuit of the well-being of employees, integrating sustainability, inclusiveness, and profit.

Etihad Cargo arrives at China’s Ezhou Huahu Airport

Etihad Cargo operated its inaugural freighter flight to Ezhou Huahu Airport on 18 August with its Boeing 777-200 freighter, marking the start of freighter service between Abu Dhabi and Ezhou.

Located in Hubei province, Ezhou Huahu Airport was developed as Asia’s first dedicated, professional cargo airport. Equipped with a 23,000-sqm cargo terminal and a 700,000-sqm freight transit centre, the airport serves as a gateway for air trade between China and the rest of the world.

Etihad Cargo’s expansion to Ezhou follows the carrier’s announcement that it has expanded its reciprocal block space agreement with SF Airlines to increase cargo capacity from China to overseas via Abu Dhabi.The carrier is the first international airline other than SF Airlines to operate flights to the airport, which is expected to open 10 international cargo routes and 50 domestic routes by 2025, with an annual cargo and mail throughput of 2.45 million tonnes.

Changi inks agreement to help develop Egypt’s Cairo Cargo City

Changi Airports International (CAI) has signed an agreement with Cairo Airport Company, which is expected to help position Cairo International Airport as a cargo and logistics hub. The air hub is one of the busiest airports in Africa and the largest airport in Egypt in terms of passenger and cargo traffic.

The Singapore-based airport consultancy firm will work with the airport operator in Egypt for a feasibility study for the development of Cairo Cargo City, a new area at Cairo International Airport that has been earmarked for cargo and logistics development. Another consultancy agreement was signed for the passenger business.

Air New Zealand’s ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ calls for airports

Air New Zealand is looking for two airports to further support its efforts towards decarbonisation and has opened an expression of interest, as part of selecting a route to fly its commercial demonstrator aircraft from 2026. The move is part of the airline’s ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ launched in December last year, where the carrier announced partnerships and plans to launch the first-zero emissions demonstrator flight by 2026.

Air New Zealand is working towards its ambition of flying next generation aircraft on its domestic network from

2030. The airline will work with its partners to develop the technology and associated infrastructure required to make this a reality. The commercial demonstrator aircraft will be either electric, hybrid or hydrogen fuel celled and will initially operate as a cargo-only service. The airline said it will announce the type of demonstrator aircraft it will use from 2026 by early next year.

“Decarbonising aviation is not easy, and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re committed to reducing our emissions as quickly as we can, and this process is another step in the right direction,” said Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand’s chief sustainability officer.

deugro Thailand moves urgent over-sized cargo to the US by air

deugro successfully delivered 37 over-sized pipe spools for an urgent facility start-up, from Thailand to the US, with the support of its air charter team and local offices. For this particular cargo, the forwarder explained that shipments of this size are usually shipped by sea, or via expedited direct ocean charter in urgent cases; however, only transporting via air freight could meet the date needed for the cargo to be on site.

The company provided a multimodal door-to-door solution from a production facility in eastern Thailand to a facility in Houston, TX through various aircraft types and trucktrailer configurations. It took nine charter flights to transport urgent components with a total volume of 213 metric tonnes (1,628 cubic meters).

Preparations on the ground were also made to ensure the delivery of the replacement components from the factory in Rayong Province to U-Tapao Airport, and then from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston onto the facility after arrival.

DSV to widen presence in Singapore with new facility

DSV continues to expand its footprint in Singapore and has partnered with logistics realtor LOGOS to develop the forwarder’s largest warehouse in the city state, nicknamed DSV Pearl. This will be the first greenfield builtto-suit facility in Singapore, which will be designed specifically for DSV and with environmental stewardship in mind.

Both companies will invest a total of $200 million in the new facility, which is targeted to be completed by mid-2025. The warehouse will cover around 720,000 square feet, with convenient access to key transport infrastructure like Jurong Port, Changi Airport and the upcoming Tuas Megaport.

The five-storey ramp up warehouse will occupy a large floor plate of 136,000 square feet per floor, complete with a high ceiling and advanced warehouse automation systems to increase efficiency in storage, retrieval and processing of goods. It will provide advanced warehousing solutions to serve growing regional demand in various sectors across Southeast, including pharmaceuticals, retail, consumer goods and high tech.

Nippon Express buys furniture logistics specialist Tramo

Nippon Express is looking to widen its tracks in international markets and has agreed to acquire Tramo group, a SwissItalian furniture logistics specialist, for an estimated 10 billion yen (US$68 million). The deal, which is scheduled to be completed by 2 November, includes the 18 companies under the Tramo group, including Swiss-based holding company Tramo. The purchase will be made through subsidiary Nippon Express Italia.

The move comes amidst an ongoing trend amongst high-end fashion houses of moving into other products and services, such as furniture and hotels. The Japanese logistics group will tap Tramo’s know-how and furniture distribution networks in Europe and North America to serve the company’s clients in the fashion industry as they expand their business portfolios.

Nippon Express said it will actively use M&A to enter new areas and enhance group synergy, according to a statement in early April. In May, the Japanese Holdings Company acquired Austrian logistics player cargo-partner, expanding its network in Central and Eastern Europe.

Kerry Logistics bounces back in Q2

Kerry Logistics’ performance in the first half of this year may have already seen the company ‘bottom out’ after the sharp drop from the extreme highs seen during the pandemic, as the Hong Kong-based logistics player saw 30 percent quarter-on-quarter growth for Q2.In its interim results, the company recorded a net profit of HK$368 million for the first half, down 85 percent versus the same period last year, with revenue dropping 47 percent year-on-year to HK$25,315 million.

Vic Cheung, Managing Director of

Kerry Logistics Network, said 2023 is shaping up to be a tough year for the industry with normalising rates post-pandemic but there are packets of improvement for both rates and volumes in its key markets.

Across the business, Kerry Logistics’ integrated logistics remained stable in H1 with a segment profit of HK$718 million thanks to its operations in China and Thailand, whilst the freight forwarding business recorded an 82 percent year-on-year contraction in segment profit in the first half at HK$621 million.

Recording the only segment loss for the first half is the company’s e-commerce and express business. The group expects major performer Kerry Express Thailand to stabilise in the fourth quarter of next year.

B&H Worldwide delivers first engine shipment for SIA

Aerospace logistics specialist B&H Worldwide was recently commissioned by Singapore Airlines to transport a GE90 engine from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to the citystate and has successfully completed its first delivery and storage on behalf of Singapore Airlines.

B&H completed the shipment in 3 days with the 10,700-kilogram engine now safely stored within the climate-controlled environment of its warehouse facility at Singapore Changi Airport. Mounted on a special stand, the engine will be stored at a constant temperature of 23-24°C and at a humidity level of 64-65 percent until required.

DB Schenker unveils plans for ‘RedLion2’ in Singapore

German logistics firm DB Schenker in August announced plans to invest more than €100 million for a new zero-emissions logistics facility in Singapore’s Tampines area, which is scheduled to be completed by the first half of 2025. Dubbed RedLion2, the 600,000-sqft facility will be the company’s largest investment in Singapore, surpassing the previous investment record for Red Lion, a S$163 million (€101 million ) warehouse opened in 2020 at the free trade zone of the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore.

DB Schenker said the future facility aims to support the semiconductor and healthcare industries and will be designed to house advanced automation solutions, including intelligent conveyor systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, and autonomous guided vehicles.

RedLion2 will also be equipped with several sustainable features, including over 4,000 solar panels, to ensure that the facility is carbonnegative. With the addition of the future facility, DB Schenker’s facilities in Singapore will occupy over four million square feet of land across 17 facilities.