Consultant Insight: Air cargo supply chain prep so far for COVID-19 vaccine

[caption id="attachment_69752" align="alignright" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo World columnist[/caption] With more than 165 COVID-19 vaccines in development and dozens in human trials, according to the World Health Organization, the race to develop a vaccine may be nearing the finish line. Once approved and manufactured, the transportation, warehousing and last-mile delivery of vaccines will need to take place, but preparations for these vital shipments are already well underway. “Covid-19 vaccine delivery will be one of the biggest logistical challenges in modern history, according to Neel Jones Shah, global head of airfreight at Flexport and board member of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA). “No one company can own the end-to-end vaccine supply chain.” Even with many companies involved across all steps of the supply chain, the scale of the logistics response necessary “will likely cause incredible disruptions to every phase of global transport infrastructure as it strains capacity,” Pete Mento, managing director global customs and duties at Crowe LLP, commented on LinkedIn in August. To prevent disruption, some air cargo groups, including TIACA, Pharma.Aero and IATA, are developing global guidance to enable optimal transportation. Meanwhile, forwarders and air cargo providers are making their preparations. For example, Kuehne+Nagel has opened airside pharmaceutical and health care hubs in Brussels, Belgium and Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the forwarder, the facilities support direct tarmac access, critical for handling temperature-sensitive products with very low to zero stability outside their stated temperature ranges. FedEx, DHL and UPS have been expanding their temperature-controlled transport capabilities. DHL Global Forwarding has opened a new $1.6 million facility in Indianapolis, and FedEx is adding freezers, refrigerated trucks, sensors and thermal blankets. Meanwhile, UPS is establishing freezer farms , each consisting of hundreds of portable freezer units for vaccines requiring -80 C in Louisville, Ky., and Venlo in the Netherlands, near the company’s global air hubs. Airlines are also enhancing their facilities. For example, Lufthansa Cargo sped up construction of two pharmaceutical storage facilities, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Munich Airport (MUC), in part to be ready for a vaccine, said Harald Gloy, chief operations officer of the German airline’s freight operation. But will these preparations be enough? According to IATA , providing just a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 7.8 billion people would fill 8,000 747 freighters. However, air capacity constraints sparked by the pandemic continue. According to the latest IATA figures for July , global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 31.2% globally and by 32.9% for international operations compared to the previous year. This is a small improvement from the 33.4% year-on-year drop in June. Belly capacity for international air cargo declined YoY by a much larger 70.5% in July mainly because of the withdrawal of passenger services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This was partially offset by a 28.8% increase in capacity through expanded use of freighter aircraft. Upon announcement of a vaccine, the air cargo market will need to be prepared to quickly add the necessary capacity. IATA further notes that because vaccine shipments are high-value goods, arrangements must be made to ensure that shipments remain secure from tampering and theft. In addition, quick cross-border transport must also be implemented. Among IATA’s recommendations are fast-tracking procedures for overflight and landing permits for air cargo providers, as well as for land-transportation providers transporting the COVID-19 vaccine, and exempting flight crew members from quarantine requirements to ensure that cargo supply chains are maintained. As pharmaceutical companies rush to develop a successful vaccine, the supply chain will need to be prepared to act quickly to ensure safe worldwide delivery for the most important cold-chain and logistics project in human history.

Consultant Insight: Air cargo supply chain prep so far for COVID-19 vaccine

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