Category: Freight Forwarding

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

Late last month, Beacon – a digital freight forwarder based in the U.K. – announced that it had raised $15 million in a Series A round of financing. It also announced that Jeff Bezos was one of the investors in that round.

Bezos’ investment instantly became an issue of discussion among people who follow early-stage technology startups in the freight markets. The fact that Beacon describes itself as a digital freight forwarder added to the intrigue since digital freight forwarders have proclaimed the imminent death of traditional freight forwarders for at least half a decade, arguably longer.

In the press release, Beacon describes itself as “a technology-driven freight forwarder applying technology to create a simpler, more efficient shipping experience for its customers.”

Like other digital freight brokers, Beacon’s goal is to disrupt the “trillion-dollar” freight forwarder market.

This made me think of a number of conversations I have had recently with various early stage startups building new products for the freight markets, while trying to discover a scalable, repeatable and profitable business model in the process.

Disruption is the outcome of solving customers’ problems

The startups that end up disrupting an industry do so by creating customer value on an ongoing basis. In the process, and as they become more successful at demonstrating and creating customer value, they develop a trusted brand and other elements of an economic moat. Over time, their success at value creation and the existence of an economic moat around their business model enables them to extract more value for themselves. 

This is particularly true if the startup successfully increases the size of the overall profit pie available for distribution across every node in the supply chain – avoiding a zero-sum contest with other participants in the supply chain network of which they are a part. 

Reacting to the announcement about Beacon’s round, Robert Keen, Director General of the British International Freight Association, defended traditional freight brokers. He argues that traditional freight forwarders are more nimble and adaptive to changing technology trends than digital freight forwarders are willing to recognize. 

Freight forwarding is not a trillion-dollar industry

Digital freight forwarders often proclaim that freight forwarding is a “trillion dollar market” that is ripe for disruption. Certainly, the customers that digital freight forwarders serve move products worth more than $1 trillion. But freight forwarders don’t capture $1 trillion of value in the form of revenues for themselves. So it is deceptive to say that freight forwarding is a trillion dollar industry. It is not.

According to Statista, freight forwarding revenues amounted to 151.9 billion Euros in 2019, worldwide. Using an exchange rate of 1 Euro = 1.13 U.S. Dollars, that amounts to $171.65 billion.

According to IBISWorld, in 2019 there were 108,675 freight brokers in the United States. These companies employed 382,955 people. Estimated revenue for the industry was $145.6 billion. It is an industry characterized by low barriers to entry and intense price competition. It is also an industry characterized by regional and industry specialization. 

Wrapping things up

I am not arguing that freight forwarding will never undergo disruption due to technology-driven innovation. Nor am I saying this means that there are no venture-scale opportunities in freight forwarding. 

But, I am saying that early-stage investors should be skeptical of claims that there is a trillion dollars of value that traditional freight forwarders have failed to create, and as such that digital freight forwarders will create that value and capture a substantial portion of it in the process.

If you are a team working on innovations that you believe have the potential to refashion supply chain logistics, we’d love to tell your story in FreightWaves. I am easy to reach on LinkedIn and Twitter. Alternatively, you can reach out to any member of the editorial team at FreightWaves at media@freightwaves.com.  

Andreas Enger will become the chief executive officer of Höegh Autoliners on Sept. 8.

Current CEO Thor Jørgen Guttormsen will continue to support the company as non-executive director and senior adviser.

Enger has served as Höegh’s chief financial officer since September 2019 and worked closely with Guttormsen on the company’s strategy and operating model. 

Enger will continue to chair Posten, Norway’s state-owned postal service. 

Prior to joining Höegh autoliners, Enger was a partner at Deloitte. He also has held senior executive positions at McKinsey & Co., Norske Skog, PGS and Peterson Packaging.

Höegh Autoliners, headquartered in Norway, operates pure car and truck carriers on 12 trade routes.

Elemica

Digital supply network Elemica has named David Muse as its new CEO.

Muse, who will oversee daily operations and drive the company’s strategy, also has been appointed to Elemica’s board of directors.

“Elemica enables clients to achieve the visibility and interoperability needed for world-class supply chain operations. Elemica’s suite of SaaS products is critical to connecting these leading global companies to their suppliers, logistics providers and customers,” Muse said.

Elemica, headquartered in Philadelphia, said Muse brings extensive global leadership experience in enterprise software and a proven track record of driving transformative growth. He previously was the president and CEO of Enviance, a provider of environmental, health and safety software, and COO of P2 Energy Solutions, a provider of software and data solutions for the upstream oil and gas industry.

Elemica’s board called former CEO Rich Katz “one of the company’s most influential leaders since 2009. Rich has played a significant role in building Elemica into the global organization it is today.”

Averitt Express

Averitt Express, headquartered in Cookeville, Tennessee, has named 37-year industry veteran Randy Beam as director of corporate business development.

Beam will be responsible for sales coverage in the western United States.

Beam’s previous positions include outbound dock supervisor, sales representative, city sales manager, corporate account manager and senior director of corporate accounts.

Mike Wise, Averitt’s vice president of corporate business development, called Beam a “hard charger. His will to succeed will serve him well.”

OmniTRAX

Denver-based OmniTRAX, a private railroad and transportation management company, has added industry veteran Federico Díaz Page to its industrial development team.

“Federico is a dynamic leader with more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of operational, strategic and commercial responsibilities. He brings expertise in rail transportation, economic development and industrial promotion to the new position,” said Ean Johnson, vice president of industrial development for OmniTRAX.

Díaz Page most recently was the executive vice president of short-line rail operator Texas Pacifico Transportation Ltd.

Great Lakes Advisory Board

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has appointed Jeff Stollenwerk, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s director of government and environmental affairs, to the Great Lakes Advisory Board.

The 14-member board provides recommendations on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.

“The Great Lakes are the drinking water supply for millions of people and must be protected for future generations,” Stollenwerk said. “These tremendous water resources are also key drivers in the regional economic engine that includes industries, manufacturing, recreation and tourism. Advising the EPA on those interests, in addition to implementation of the binational water quality agreement, is important to ensure responsible use of our shared water resources now and in the future.”

Port of Newcastle

The Port of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, has appointed two senior infrastructure leaders.

Paul Brown, the new executive manager of business development, most recently was based in New York as sales director for GE Renewable and, before that, GE Transportation. He previously was the general manager of growth and business development for freight rail operator Aurizon.

Glenn Thornton most recently was a regional director and project adviser with the global engineering consulting firm WSP.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Kim Link-Wills.

European on-demand trucking platform Ontruck has raised an investment of €17 million, in a round led by OGCI Climate Investments (OGCICI), and saw participation from existing investors Cathay Innovation, Atomico, Idinvest Partners and Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, with Endeavor Catalyst joining as a new investor.

Iñigo Juantegui, the CEO and co-founder of Ontruck, explained that Ontruck’s association with OGCI was a reaffirmation of the commitment both firms have to make road transportation greener and more efficient – especially in the face of the challenging circumstances surrounding COVID-19. 

“By combining business intelligence and machine learning tools, Ontruck’s platform can optimize the routes taken by its network of drivers to reduce downtime, and the volume of empty miles traveled. This not only eliminates the unnecessary consumption of fuel but also reduces the emission of polluting gases from entering the atmosphere,” said Juantegui.

Ontruck’s technology maximizes efficiency across the road freight marketplace by identifying various geolocation and behavioral patterns of drivers. Based on insights gained from the data, Ontruck can offer tailored routes that suit driver preferences, reducing the distance between the freight’s origin and destination. 

“The platform’s unique routing algorithm, capable of planning routes based on multiple variables, also makes it possible to link new loads to existing routes. This optimizes the capacity of Ontruck’s vehicle network to create a more dynamic and agile fleet,” explained Juantegui. “The more iterations that the platform does with each route, the better it becomes at offering the best suggestion for each of the network’s carriers.” 

This dynamic route optimization helps Ontruck to significantly reduce deadhead miles, which results in lower CO₂ emissions across every journey. To date, Ontruck has had commendable results in its carbon footprint downsizing efforts, managing to reduce the percentage of miles driven by vehicles running without freight from 44% – the industry average – to 19%. Ontruck estimates that this prevented 1.6 million pounds of CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere. 

Juantegui explained that Ontruck plans to continue growing its business in markets it has a presence in currently, while also developing its technology. The company invests close to 40% of its resources into technological development. Juantegui pointed out that it is a constant effort to improve Ontruck’s main products, by optimizing the process of getting a load, finding a truck, assigning it, and tracking it to its completion.

“There are an immense amount of variables and steps at play in these processes. The supply chain is a highly complex infrastructure, and only through technology will we be able to have a big impact in it,” said Juantegui. “We are not currently thinking of opening new markets, especially given the current uncertainty. We will, however, be re-evaluating these decisions in the coming months after we see how the market evolves.”

Ontruck operates in France, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K.. The company has some of Europe’s largest brands as clients, including Auchan, Pepsico, P&G, Codorniu, GBFoods, CHEP and Decathlon.

Berlin-based digital freight forwarder sennder is merging with Paris-based Everoad. This strategic alliance will make the companies one of the largest digital freight forwarding platforms for trucking in Europe. Both sennder and Everoad have similar technology powering their platforms, and help large enterprise businesses connect with small trucking firms. 

Maxime Legardez, the CEO and founder of Everoad, explained that the company was always looking to continue its expansion across Europe, and was open to consolidate with players that had matching synergies. Legardez was associated with David Nothacker, the CEO and co-founder of sennder, when both the startups were founded a few years ago. 

The companies now command a sizable market share in their respective countries. Consolidation between sennder and Everoad is expected to help the combined company to rapidly scale up operations across neighboring markets. 

“Both our companies have strong R&D and IT teams, which has translated into great features and automation compared to other players,” said Legardez. “With very similar DNA in terms of organization, values and future mindset, this will be a great new chapter for both sennder and Everoad.”

Apart from having a strong presence in Germany and France, the companies also have offices across Italy, Spain, Poland and the Nordic region. Legardez mentioned that the company would continue hiring people in the technology and design segments in France and Germany. 

Currently, the companies complete over 35,000 loads per month combined. sennder and newly formed ‘Everoad by sennder’ have a total of 350 employees, with their combined platform accounting for a network of 10,000 carrier partners and large enterprise customers. The companies have raised a combined €120 million in venture capital investment – with lead investors including Accel and Lakestar. The combined companies seeks to achieve revenues of €1 billion by 2024. 

“Our objective was the same – to create a European industry champion within the freight forwarding and logistics industry. By merging with sennder, we achieved this target and can

also contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the industry. By becoming ‘Everoad by sennder,’ we will share our expertise and experience acquired over more than four years of a pan-European vision,” said Legardez. 

Both companies have been passionate about reducing the carbon footprint associated with road freight movement, which currently accounts for 6% of the European Union’s total CO₂ emissions. The companies plan to reduce the deadhead miles related to trucking (roughly 20% of all the miles traveled), by optimizing the capacity allocation and continuing to provide greener services. 

“In the midst of this international crisis caused by COVID-19, road freight has demonstrated its inimitable, strategic role in transporting essential goods. It now makes more sense than ever to join forces and integrate Everoad into the sennder group. In that way, we can jointly invest resources and know how to tackle the new challenges and opportunities emerging out of the crisis,” said Nothacker.

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) said it delivered its first former Boeing 777-300 passenger plane to Israel Aerospace Industries this week for conversion to all-cargo service.

The GECAS-owned aircraft, which was flown from Dubai to Tel Aviv airport, was initially part of Emirates’ passenger service.

Converting the 2005-built aircraft to a freighter will require extensive work, including the addition of a main deck cargo door, window plugs, modified crew compartment and a reinforced fuselage.

Since this will be the first aircraft conversion of its type, the plane must meet various airworthiness certifications. GECAS said the first plane should be ready for cargo service in 2022, after which it should take Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) four to five months to convert each aircraft.

GECAS declined to name its launch customer for the 777-300 Extended Range freighter. However, the company said it has 15 “firm” orders, with another 15 prospective conversions.

Once completed, GECAS said its 777-300ER, dubbed the “Big Twin,” will be the largest twin-engine freighter of its type.

The company said the freighter will burn 21% less fuel per ton than the larger 747-400 freighters and offer 25% more cargo volume than the 777-200 freighters. The plane’s flight range capability is expected to supersede the remaining 747-400 and MD11 freighters in service.

“This aircraft sets out to meet requirements of the air cargo industry for the next 20 years,” said Richard Greener, GECAS Cargo’s senior vice president, in a statement.

GECAS and IAI announced the start of the 777-300ER passenger-to-freighter program in October.

Click for more American Shipper/FreightWaves articles by Chris Gillis.

International shippers of fresh fruits, vegetables, seafoods and meats take great pride in the quality and appearance of their products. Similarly, they expect the first thing that arrives at their loading docks by truck, as well as their customers’ location — the refrigerated ocean containers — to look just as fresh.

Food producers undoubtedly become uneasy when loading their products into reefer containers blemished by rusted steel framing, said Steven Blust, president of the Washington-based Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL).

“Top performance, reliability and condition of the refrigerated container have always been hallmarks of refrigerated container services,” Blust said.

Forty-foot reefer containers are also expensive, with new ones costing between $16,500 and $17,500 apiece, whereas new 40-foot dry boxes cost about $3,400 each in today’s market. Lessors of reefer containers expect a 15-year lifecycle for these pricey assets.

Among the key factors for sustaining the appearance and longevity of reefer containers are the protective coatings manufacturers use on the steel frames.

Traditionally, reefer container manufacturers have protected steel frames in highly corrosive marine and rough-and-tumble terminal environments by using hot zinc sprayed coatings, which cost $60 to $80 per 40-footer. However, the galvanization process for coating metals has health and environmental risks if not performed correctly.

Stiffer government regulations have pushed container manufacturers in recent years to significantly invest in new hot zinc spray equipment or abandon the process altogether for cheaper and lighter protective applications using zinc-rich primers, the IICL said.

Last year, the China Container Industry Association warned that some of its members may be forced to abandon hot zinc sprays due to regulatory pressures, which alarmed IICL’s members.

IICL launched a study in December to better understand the wear-and-tear conditions of hot zinc-sprayed containers versus those coated with zinc-rich primers.

For more than a month, a group of container lessors and specially selected independent inspectors, who were led by IICL Director of Technical Services Luiz Gonçalves, carried out random inspections of about 500 reefer boxes in major ports throughout the world, including China’s Qingdao, Shanghai, Dalian and Tianjin; Northern Europe’s Antwerp and Rotterdam; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; and the U.S. ports of Miami and Los Angeles.

The inspections included 40-foot reefer containers between 1 and 15 years old. Inspectors photographed the containers and filled out standard forms to collect relevant data for the IICL analysis, Gonçalves said.

“The study, no doubt, reconfirmed what our experience and previous analysis were telling us — that the frame of refrigerated units treated with hot zinc spray had an overall significantly better performance than the ones using zinc-rich primer,” Gonçalves said.

He noted that the difference in condition of reefer containers that used hot zinc spray vs. zinc-rich primer was especially noticeable by the sixth and seventh year in service.

Frame repairs and refurbishing due to premature corrosion are significant expenses to owners and may lead to an early retirement of the containers. In addition, container refurbishers are few and far between worldwide, Gonçalves said.

The IICL said it makes long-term economic and environmental sense for China’s reefer container manufacturers to fully automate the hot zinc spray process, including investing in the necessary air filtration systems, to continue providing these containers with lower maintenance requirements throughout their lifecycle.

Flanked by stacks of boxes containing 200,000 respirator face masks, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said CMA CGM’s donation “reflects the power of partnerships.”

Garcetti thanked the French ocean carrier for the gift of the face masks to Logistics Victory Los Angeles at the Port of LA last week. The mayor in early April tapped Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka to serve as the city’s chief logistics officer and charged him with getting personal protective equipment essential in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus into the hands of first responders.

Ed Aldridge, president of CMA CGM and APL North America, said, “We are proud to provide these masks as a gesture of our dedication to the great people of Los Angeles and to our partners at the Port of LA, who do an absolutely outstanding job working our vessels every week. As the largest ocean carrier today calling the Port of Los Angeles and our nation’s largest ocean carrier, we are absolutely committed to help the U.S. recover from the effects of this pandemic.

“CMA CGM today is harnessing the best of our organization, including CEVA Logistics and American President Lines, to deliver differentiated ocean services and customized end-to-end logistics solutions for the vital products that need to be delivered faster, safely and, always, economically and environmentally in a reliable manner,” Aldridge said.

Carbon neutral by 2050

On the environmental front, Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé told the United Nations Global Compact on Tuesday that CMA CGM aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

He added that CMA CGM is on track to reduce its CO2 emissions per tonne transported per kilometer by 40% by 2030, a target set by the International Maritime Organization.

“In 2019, we reduced our total CO2 emissions by 6%. These significant reductions were made possible thanks to our mobilization, the technological innovations implemented and an improved management of vessel operations,” Saadé said.

Saadé also committed that by 2023, 10% of CMA CGM’s energy supplies will consist of alternative fuels.

He said the company is launching vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year. These megaships are hailed as the world’s largest LNG-powered container ships, with a capacity of 23,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

“This is a worldwide premiere, resulting in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of around 20% and the suppression of almost all sulfur and fine particle emissions,” Saadé said. “This is a major event. It symbolizes the path that we are taking in terms of energy transition using the most advanced eco-friendly technology available today.”

The company launched the first of these LNG-powered container ships, the CMA CGM Jacques Saadé, named for the late founder, in September. CMA CGM said at the time that eight more 23,000-TEU LNG-powered ships would be deployed this year on Asia-Europe services.

Click to read more FreightWaves articles by Kim Link-Wills.

Fiona Murray, vice president of public and government affairs for CN, has been appointed chair of the board of the Railway Association of Canada (RAC).

Murray is the first female board chair in the RAC’s 103-year history.

“Fiona is a very effective and strong leader as well as an extremely capable railroader,” said CN President and CEO JJ Ruest. “I’ve worked directly with Fiona for over 20 years, and her dedication and commitment to anything she gets involved with has been an incredible asset for CN and will be most beneficial to the RAC. She is the right person to help lead the board of the RAC and the organization to the next level of performance and advocacy for our entire industry.”

Murray joined CN in 1992, initially working in public affairs before moving to positions of increasing responsibility in several departments.

Marc Brazeau, president and CEO of the RAC, said 30% of the board’s members now are female. “Two short years ago, it was exclusively comprised of men. This represents a major and important  milestone in Canada’s railway industry.”

Sysco

Marie Robinson has joined Sysco Corp. as executive vice president and chief supply chain officer. She is tasked with accelerating profitable growth through more tailored supply chain solutions.

Sysco President and CEO Kevin Hourican said Robinson brings “substantial experience leading international supply chain organizations, network transformation initiatives, distribution centers and private transportation fleets at a global scale. Her previous success in driving change through partnerships gives me great confidence that she will help us successfully drive transformative efforts at Sysco.”

Robinson previously was the senior vice president, chief operations and transformation officer for Capri Holding Ltd., the parent holding company of Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo. Her responsibilities included logistics, distribution, supply chain planning, indirect procurement, industrial engineering, fulfillment operations, factory compliance, customer support and call center operations.

Svitzer

Tugboat operator Svitzer has announced that Kasper Friis Nilaus will succeed Henriette Thygesen as global CEO effective June 15.

Nilaus currently is the vice president and managing director of Svitzer Europe. He will continue to report to Thygesen, who becomes CEO of Maersk Fleet and Strategic Brands. Svitzer, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a fully owned A.P. Møller – Mærsk company.

Thygesen said Nilaus has “not only a profound understanding of the towage business, of safe and efficient operations and of our Svitzer people but also extensive commercial experience and a strong customer-oriented mindset.

“With Kasper at the helm, Svitzer is in very capable hands and in an exciting position to continue the growth trajectory and further strengthen the services we deliver to our customers. I look forward to continuing the good collaboration and support Kasper in this new setup,” she said.

Nilaus joined Svitzer as the business development manager in 2007 and has held various regional and global positions. He will continue to serve as the managing director of Europe until a replacement is appointed. 

As CEO of Fleet and Strategic Brands, Thygesen will serve as an executive vice president of A.P. Møller – Mærsk and as a member of the executive board. Previously she was a vice president and CEO of Damco Americas and North Asia.

Adnavem

Swedish-based tech company Adnavem has hired sales executives Philip Anderberg and Nina Karlsson.

Adnavem is expanding its operations in Sweden and opening offices in Stockholm and Malmö. Anderberg will be responsible for sales in Stockholm. Karlsson will cover the southern parts of Sweden. 

Anderberg (pictured above far right) had previous roles at Consid and Maersk. Karlsson has a background as a freight forwarder and also was a purchaser at Swede-Wheel.

Founded in 2017, Adnavem also has a presence in China and Singapore. Its mission is to transform the industry by providing a disruptive, digitized way of buying transportation and logistics services. 

“With no middleman, we eliminate extra costs and maximize transparency. We give the cargo owner full and instant control. Service providers get access to new potential customers in the marketplace and can establish long-term relationships,” Adnavem said.

AddSecure

AddSecure has appointed Kim Kristiansen as its vice president of sales for the Smart Transport business unit.

Fleet and transportation management systems provider Vehco was rebranded as AddSecure in May.

Kristiansen previously was the CEO of TARGIT Inc., a business intelligence and analytics provider.

In his new role, Kristiansen, who will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark, will focus on developing and implementing the sales strategy for growth throughout Europe.

“Kim is a proven executive who has a track record of growing and developing outstanding sales teams across a range of geographies. He will be a great asset both in terms of sales leadership  and overall executive leadership,” said Johan Frilund, the managing director of AddSecure Smart Transport.

According to a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt Today, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) is pursuing an ownership stake in German parcel company Hermes.

The article identified the Memphis-based transportation and logistics giant as the likely suitor to partner with Hermes to expand the company’s parcel distribution service, but listed Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and the logistics arm of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) as interested parties.

Hermes competes in major European markets in Germany, France and the United Kingdom and presents a growth opportunity for FedEx to increase market share and gain scale in comparison to DHL’s (Deutsche Post CXE: DPW.D.IX) dominance in the region.

In its Wednesday financial report for the fiscal year ended Feb. 29, Hermes’ parent, Hamburg-based online retailer Otto Group, said it was planning to bring on a “strategic partner for European parcel deliveries” within the financial year. The company noted the parcel unit has been successful acquiring new corporate customers and experienced peak season-like parcel deliveries during April. Hermes reported adjusted external revenue growth of 10.9% for the recent fiscal year and management expects smaller but “still significant” external growth in the current fiscal year.

Hermes is investing “heavily” in logistics infrastructure by expanding its European network of parcel collection hubs in efforts to build out its international, cross-border parcel business. Further, the unit has e-mobility initiatives in place as it pursues zero-emission delivery throughout Germany by 2025. Hermes is on better operating footing given improved growth trends but still faces cost obstacles like wage increases for delivery agents, which they describe as being in “increasing shortage.”

FedEx finds itself in a transformation to improve sagging earnings and adapt to the ever-evolving supply chain, which favors online sales and e-commerce. Acquiring an interest in a European parcel carrier would advance the company’s e-commerce pursuits and provide it with another growth avenue.

The recent reshaping of FedEx has included further efforts to minimize its reliance on the U.S. Postal Service as a delivery option, seeking new partnerships with online retailers (firing Amazon as a customer) and the start of combining its long-siloed air and ground offerings.

In April, FedEx announced plans to further reduce expenses and preserve liquidity, which included a full drawdown of its $1.5 billion credit facility. The surge in online purchasing has created an unfavorable shift in mix to smaller residential shipments as larger B2B shipments have been negatively impacted by shutdown ordinances. The recent balance sheet and cost-cutting efforts are designed to help navigate COVID-19-related headwinds that have negatively impacted the company’s operations.

The deal may be a smoother path to profitability in the region as FedEx continues to incur significant expenses integrating and restructuring the 2016 acquisition of Netherlands-based TNT Express. Through its fiscal third quarter of 2020, FedEx reported $168 million in integration expenses related to the acquisition after recording $325 million in similar expenses during the 2019 fiscal year.

Otto Group’s management described negotiations to sell a portion of Hermes as at an “advanced stage.”

Escalating airfreight transportation rates and capacity shortages out of China in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic have led many shippers to try hybrid services that combine sea and air modes.

So-called “sea-air” services offered by some global freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) have been around for decades, but they tend to come and go depending on airfreight market conditions.

The pandemic has spawned increased interest in moving freight from Asia by fast boat to Los Angeles where it is put on a plane to Europe. The new option has become more popular than the traditional routing through the Middle East, which involved an ocean leg to the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali seaport, stripping the container and delivering the cargo to an airliner at the Dubai airport for transport to the destination city, according to logistics professionals.

“Sea-air is a reaction to lack of capacity and high rates,” said Morten Bach, global chief commercial officer for Shipco, a non-vessel carrier in Hoboken, New Jersey. “When air rates go up, sea-air becomes a viable alternative for cargo that cannot pay high airfreight rates, nor accept all-ocean transit times.”

Experts caution that not all freight is suited for the sea-air mix because of tight delivery windows and more touch points that increase the risk of delays, such as extra customs inspections.

L.A. sea-air service throughput

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned Los Angeles into a center for sea-air logistics services.

Ocean consolidator ECU Worldwide earlier this year established a sea-air service from China to Europe via Los Angeles, called XLERATE. Less-than-containerload (LCL) shipments booked by forwarders are moved via ocean carrier from six Chinese ports to Los Angeles,  for devanning and placement onto airplanes bound for Europe.

“We are targeting airfreight users and really not trying to convert our standard LCL clients to XLERATE per se. The commercial benefits are allowing our freight forwarding customers to give their “clients a third or middle service option both in price and transit between pure air cargo out of China and the standard ocean LCL service,” Tim Tudor, ECU Worldwide’s Miami-based CEO said.

Transit times are between 14 to 23 days, depending on the Chinese origin port and the destination European airport, while the cost is about one-fourth that of pure airfreight.

After devanning containers and reloading the cargo onto airline pallets at its facility in Los Angeles, Shipco turns the freight over to all-cargo operator Cargolux for air transport to Europe.

Both ocean wholesalers credit the success of their L.A. sea-air service to trans-Pacific, U.S.-flag ocean carriers Matson Navigation (NYSE: MATX) and APL, a subsidiary of French line CMA CGM, which operate scheduled container service from China and North Asia to the Port of Los Angeles. 

While other trans-Pacific liner carriers have announced numerous blank sailings during the COVID-19 pandemic, Matson has even added chartered vessels to increase its capacity to two sailings per week, according to Tudor. For Asia origins that are not served by Matson, ECU Worldwide uses APL’s “Gate Out” service.

“We are most certainly focused on knowing when these blank sailings will occur and adjust our schedule accordingly,” Tudor said.

Central and South America

Both ECU Worldwide and Shipco said they also have expanded their sea-air services via Los Angeles to include destinations across Central and South America. They perform this by trucking the cargo to Miami International Airport for outbound flights to those regions.

Shipco operates team trucks seven days a week to Miami.

“It is an advantage for us that we are a truck broker in the U.S. and can control the trucking leg into Miami ourselves via our in-house domestic department to ensure we can deliver on the competitive transit times,” Bach said.

Hospital Gear

The ocean consolidators are also providing sea-air services for large container shipments of personal protective equipment for hospitals, which initially relied on express air to cover immediate supply shortages.

“We have moved several sea-air shipments well over 80 cubic meters from Shanghai  to . . .  Munich and Madrid recently,” said Spencer Strader, ECU Worldwide’s director of U.S. imports. “We have been moving weekly shipments in the 40- to 50-cubic meter range of PPE from Shanghai and Shenzhen to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Bogota, Colombia, via Miami.”

Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is worn to minimize exposure to hazards such as viruses.

Minneapolis-based forwarder C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) has also helped Asian shippers turn to sea-air transport for their U.S.-bound shipments.

“We’re working closely with them to understand their current inventory levels and determine if expedited ocean services to the U.S. and domestic air to various U.S. states will work with their timeline,” said Matt Castle, C.H. Robinson’s vice president of global forwarding products and services. “With the right planning, global shippers can accommodate the longer lead time and take advantage of the cost savings.”

Extraordinary measures

DSV Panalpina (OTCMKTS: DSDVY), based in Germany, has experienced greater interest in its sea-air service to Europe via Singapore and Dubai.

“At the beginning of the year – before Chinese New Year – we experienced an increase in demand for this service from markets such as Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia due to a surge in textile volumes,” DSV Panalpina spokesman Christian Krogslund told American Shipper.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded late in the first quarter, demand shifted towards mainly PPE,” he said. “In order to keep supply chains flowing with vital PPE for the fight against COVID-19, we have used transshipment points such as South Korea, Taiwan and even Vietnam to meet the huge demand for capacity out of China.”

Shipco COO Kim Ekstroem said experienced logistics providers can establish new sea-air routes on demand.

When airfreight capacity to China suddenly tightened at the start of the pandemic, Shipco established a sea-air solution through Inchon, South Korea. Cargo arrived via aircraft at Inchon and was reloaded into ocean containers for transport to Shanghai.

“We got down to a transit time of roughly seven days,” Ekstroem said. However, he added, the service only lasted until the outbreak subsided in China.

Sustaining sea-air services post-COVID-19

ECU Worldwide said it plans to expand XLERATE for Europe with truck service to nine more inland U.S. locations in the next several weeks.

“Our XLERATE service, however, must first have access to premium port-to-port and express terminal gate-out services in Los Angeles for us to put it under the XLERATE rate,” Strader said.

Since sea-air services thrive on supply chain emergencies, C.H. Robinson’s Castle said the number of shipper requests will likely decrease once the COVID-19 virus subsides.

But Shipco’s Ekstroem believes sea-air services will stick around once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

“I think the need for cargo capacity will increase faster than our appetite for traveling, and without us traveling, there will be limited belly capacity and airfreight rates will stay high,” he said.