Consultant’s Insight: Ocean carriers expand air services

Ocean carriers are adding air cargo capacity to a market that has tightened considerably due to international e-commerce activity. [caption id="attachment_69752" align="alignright" width="247"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo Next columnist[/caption] CMA CGM is the latest to announce a new trans-Pacific route connecting Asia to North America. CMA CGM received its third Boeing 777-200F on Aug. 18 and began flying it Aug. 25, connecting Hong Kong with Chicago. “Our expansion into the trans-Pacific lane marks a turning point in the company’s history by connecting a new continent to our network and aligns with the ambition of the CMA CGM Group to offer a range of solutions to its customers,” CMA CGM Air Cargo Chief Executive Damien Mazaudier said in an April release. Another B777-200F is scheduled to be delivered to CMA CGM in the fourth quarter and deployed on a trans-Pacific route connecting mainland China with North America. As a result, CMA CGM Air Cargo customers will benefit from seven trans-Pacific flights per week. Trending toward air cargo MSC Air Cargo , a division of shipping company MSC Group , added a Milan-Hong Kong route to its network in July with plans to operate it twice a week. The route will be run by AlisCargo Airlines , which MSC acquired this year, using a B777-200F delivered in May, making it the fifth branded aircraft in MSC’s fleet. The Milan-Hong Kong route joins MSC Air Cargo’s network, which covers the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, trans-Atlantic and South America-Europe trade lanes. Maersk Air Cargo also took delivery in July of a Boeing 777F, the first of two. However, instead of using it on the trans-Pacific route, Maersk will deploy both planes on its existing Europe-China route, initially with three weekly flights and later up to six weekly flights. “Our 777Fs will improve the availability of space for our customers as we see a growing demand for integrated supply chain solutions, which include air,” Narin Phol , executive vice president and chief product officer for logistics and services at Maersk, said in a July 12 release. “Due to the disruptive environment in logistics, a rising number of cargo owners are choosing to reduce the number of service providers in their supply chain,” he said. “Increased visibility across fewer providers enables the cargo owners to react more swiftly and [be] much better informed in case of disruption.” End to end Less than 40% of an airline’s capacity is booked two weeks before departure, according to an April 2023 study from consulting firm McKinsey . Maersk in a June blog post noted its surprise at this figure “given the increasing frequency of black swan events and airfreight’s power to overcome such disruption” and attributed it to a historical lack of air cargo market investments in digitalization and “clunky booking processes.” Maersk has therefore rolled out its own digital booking platform. While Maersk promotes its end-to-end supply chain capabilities, MSC Air Cargo is introducing industry-specific services such as its pharmaceutical product, Shipped Pharma. “This new offering exemplifies MSC Air Cargo’s commitment to meeting the diverse transportation needs of various sectors, including automotive, aerospace, high-tech, pharmaceuticals, perishables and more,” a July 18 release stated. CMA CGM’s strategy is one of simply offering various solutions across the supply chain without an end-to-end strategy like Maersk. While each ocean carrier appears to have a different strategy for launching air cargo services , air cargo is helping each diversify its services, which is necessary in today’s highly volatile global market.

Consultant’s Insight: Ocean carriers expand air services

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