Keeping an eye on specialty cargo: The ups, downs, trends and traffic in 2020

From COVID-19 vaccines to grocery perishables and other crucial cargo, specialty pharma and cool-chain shipments have been at the forefront for cargo carriers during the past year. When the world seemed to stop, global pharma, perishables and specialty cargo were in demand more than ever, spurring capacity shortages and record-breaking e-commerce trends. The Air Cargo Excellence Awards have always been an opportunity to look back at the previous year to acknowledge industry leaders who have excelled in their cargo operations in terms of customer service, performance and facilities, but this year looks a little different. Due to the high level of volatility, turnover and overall uncertainty in the aviation industry caused by the pandemic, as well as internal survey changes, Air Cargo World decided not to distribute ACE Awards in 2021. Despite this, survey responses from airlines and freight forwarders provide valuable and detailed feedback for their most frequently utilized carrier partners, creating a statistically valid sample of customer experiences for airlines and freight forwarders offering transport services in pharma, perishables and specialty cargo for 2020. Find the full analysis of the Air Cargo Customer Experience in 2020 in Editor Caryn Livingston’s feature story, “Air Cargo Customer Experience: Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Southwest shine during a difficult 2020.” UPS Airlines was the top-rated carrier for customer satisfaction in 2020 across all three categories; out of a possible 5.0 UPS scored 5.0 in pharma, 4.8 in perishables and 4.7 in specialty cargo, narrowly outperforming Cathay Pacific Cargo, the 2019 ACE Specialty Cargo winner. Air France-KLM Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo and United Cargo were also notable for customer satisfaction in these categories. Air Cargo World spoke to several top-rated carriers in the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions that excelled in in pharma, perishables and specialty cargo shipments, including Emirates and UPS airlines, after tallying the results of the survey, to discuss any changes or improvements the carriers had made to ensure their services remained top shelf during the tumultuous year. Specialty cargo requires deliberation and dedication Accommodating air cargo service for perishable products, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, live animal shipments and dangerous goods requires careful preparation. Not every carrier is able to excel in the transportation of goods that are at risk from temperature excursions and spoilage — to do so takes deliberation and dedication. “We [made] a decision some years ago to be very deliberate and very serious about pharma,” Henrik Ambak, senior vice president, cargo operations worldwide at Emirates SkyCargo, told Air Cargo World . “If you want to go into cool-chain and work with it, there’s a number of decisions you have to take … and you have to stick to them and be consistent.” Dubai-based Emirates Skycargo, which scored a 4.6 out of 5.0 in all three categories, transports between 1,400 and 2,000 tonnes of pharma weekly, or 75,000 tonnes a year, and has invested in additional specialty cool-chain equipment to maintain consistency throughout the shipping process, said Ambak “Back in 2016, we invested [in] temperature-controlled facilities, which are [Good Distribution Practices] certified,” said Ravi Mirle, vice president of commercial cargo, Far East and Australasia at Emirates, at a cool-chain panel at this year’s Cargo Facts Asia. “We started engaging with cargo terminal operators at the origin as well as destination to established what we call ‘pharma corridors’ just to ensure that the shipments, particularly the temperature-sensitive shipments, are given the same treatment … from origin hub to [the] destination.” Having built an extension of its cargo terminal in Dubai in 2016 with dedicated areas for pharma handling, Emirates provides a closed loop, end-to-end cold environment for product transportation that helps avoid cross-contamination with other products while maintaining temperature integrity, Ambak said. Emirates’ innovative cool-chain solutions include cool dollies, comprised of a steel trailer and aluminum-insulated container, that ensure shipments can be transported in all ranges of temperature without outside exposure or risk of temperature excursions. The dollies act as mobile temperature-controlled facilities that protect temperature-sensitive shipments from exposure, even while on the tarmac. From procedural operations to combating capacity issues, transport planning must be meticulous. “So, what we put together is a physical process, not just a paper flowchart process, [and] also a physical process of devices and buildings that support the pharmaceutical shipment,” Ambak explained. Air France-KLM Cargo was also a top-rated carrier in 2020, scoring a 4.7 in pharma, 4.6 in perishables and 4.4 in specialty cargo, and is committed to continue being a key player in this business segment, said Eric Mauroux, global head of perishables logistics at Air France-KLM Martinair Cargo. In the face of global capacity issues, the carrier adapted its approach for transporting perishable products while continuing to keep up with demand. Although all commodities during 2020 have been in high demand due to the pandemic, the overall perishables business to and from Europe decreased by 16%, and the flower business sector only decreased by 9%, according to Mauroux. Fruits and vegetables represented the biggest commodity segment for the carrier in 2020, with 32% of total perishables volumes going to and from Europe, Mauroux told Air Cargo World . “We have complemented the freighters’ capacities that we operate out of our major markets with mini charters that helped us, limiting the impact of the overall reduced capacities on passenger aircraft,” said Mauroux. Creating consistency in cool-chain logistics The risks that surround pharma and specialty cargo, such as potential temperature excursions or cross-contamination of pharma products, have fueled investments in technology and development of cool-chain related processes. The investment in specialty equipment like cool dollies and ultra-low temperature freezers, for example, has helped increase the volume of perishables and pharmaceuticals moving by air by eliminating several risks. The need to transport and deliver COVID-19 vaccines worldwide has made pharma a significant focus area for UPS. As of May 13, UPS has delivered more than 250 million vaccine doses globally, according to Jim Mayer, public relations manager at UPS Airlines. The integrator monitors vaccine shipments using a newly dedicated 24/7 command center that collects data from a variety of sources, including temperature recorders and an exclusive UPS active tag that provides visibility into every vaccine package, Mayer told Air Cargo World . While 2020 was a difficult year for KLM as an airline, the GDP-certified carrier continued to invest in its pharma division by expanding its cool-room capacity at its Amsterdam (AMS) and Paris (CDG) hubs, and introducing Germany-based insulation company va-Q-tec and Zurich-based cold-chain container firm SkyCell hybrid containers that protect temperature-sensitive shipments from outside exposure or temperature excursions, said Marcel Kuijn, global head of pharmaceuticals logistics at KLM. Process compliance and industry certifications have also helped to regulate the pharma industry, providing a framework for properly and consistently handling shipments. Certifications related to pharma shipments, such as GDP and IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) have changed the way data is captured and recorded, said Emirates’ Mirle, and demonstrate a dedication to good distribution practices and consistent quality of management systems throughout the supply chain. While accidents such as temperature excursions are bound to happen, the equipment, technology and supportive cool-chain infrastructure can help alleviate some of the risks associated with transportation, creating a better customer experience. “While problems occur, the earlier you detect the problem, [the] better you can resolve it,” Ambak said. “I think our customers appreciate that, in those cases where we have a problem, we are open and honest about [it], and [can] find a resolution with that.” The future of specialty cargo The global health care logistics market is forecast to reach a compound annual growth rate of 11% in the next four years, according to Kawal Preet, president of FedEx Express for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa Regions, during a Cargo Facts Asia panel. With that growth in mind, improvements in cool-chain logistics will continue to accelerate, driving a need for operators to learn from one another, said Nazri Othman, senior vice president of cargo services at Singapore-based ground handler and gateway services provider SATS, at a 2021 Cargo Facts Asia panel. “One observation that I discovered as we went along is that it’s not a one-way direction,” said Othman. “We [thought] that our model was the most complete and the most superior, but in … equating the standards across our network, we actually learn from each other.” While carriers had previously offered specialty transport services for pharma and perishables, the pandemic has emphasized awareness surrounding cool-chain logistics, accelerating improvements in the industry. “People have started talking about [the] integrity of cool chain in places where we do not have adequate cooling facilities, so I think all across the platform we are seeing a general awareness and appreciation,” Emirates’ Mirle noted. “This is where we tend to share our knowledge and experience with our partners in the supply chain, basically to enhance their knowledge and drive home the message of [the] integrity of cool chain.”

Keeping an eye on specialty cargo: The ups, downs, trends and traffic in 2020

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