From CNBC. September 15:
- The unpredictable nature of supply and demand created a need for goods to be flown, and ocean freighters have been buying air capacity as a result.
- Maersk launched an air cargo division in April and now has a fleet of 15 aircraft, while CMA CGM started its air division last year and will have 12 airplanes in operation by 2026.
- Being able to ship or fly goods helps firms create a “one-stop-shop” for cargo, according to Maersk.
Ocean freight companies are adding air cargo to their businesses as shippers look for a “one-stop shop” to move goods around the world.
“We are finding out more and more that our customers really need an end-to-end logistics solution,” said Michel Pozas Lucic, Moller Maersk’s global head of air freight, in a phone call with CNBC.
“They’re looking for this one-stop-shop that takes away not only the complexity of the logistics, but also makes it an optimized, efficient and effective solution,” he added.
Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping firm, launched an air cargo division in April and now has a fleet of 15 aircraft, while competitor CMA CGM started its air division last year and will have 12 airplanes in operation by 2026.
Supply chain disruptions created a need for goods to be flown, Pozas Lucic said.
“For most of our customers, air is part of what they need, either because of the speed that they need for their specific products, or because of a disruption … [and] ocean freight would be not ideal because it takes too long, so we realized that it’s important to have air as part of the puzzle,” he told CNBC.
Demand for air cargo is higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the International Air Transport Association, up 2.2% for the first half of the year compared with 2019 levels.
‘Nobody really cared about supply chains’
The pandemic raised the profile of supply chains, according to Marc Zeck, an analyst at wealth management firm Stifel. “The last three years have shown quite a lot of companies that their logistics divisions are not up to the task,” Zeck told CNBC by phone....
....MUCH MORE
As we saw last November, it is becoming more and more common for shippers to consider air freight and seaborne cargo as interchangeable if not strait-up substitutable:
Supply Chain Crisis: Beanie Babies Airlifted From Chinese Factories to Chicago Amid Holiday Crunch
Previously:
"CMA CGM, Air France-KLM sign exclusive air cargo partnership"
Shipping: As Publicly Traded Issuers Get Hammered, CMA CGM Buys Airplanes
