Editor’s Note: April showers brought May flowers

In Seattle, where Air Cargo World’s editorial staff is based, April was marked by steady rain perfect for the spring blossoms that have since emerged, in line with the old adage that “April showers bring May flowers.” And with the arrival of Mother’s Day on May 8, the mothers of Washington state were receiving their own bouquets — but rather than brought by Pacific Northwest rains, these stems traveled intercontinentally to make mom’s day.

The first half of each year brings an influx of perishables shipments in the form of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fresh flowers. These delicate shipments, bound for the world’s valentines in February and mothers in May, are supported behind the scenes by advanced facilities, specialized equipment and dedicated, skilled logistics professions. In her May feature “Cargo in bloom: The trends and challenges of flower logistics,” Associate Editor Kelly Stroh catches up with some of the leading cargo hubs and operators for these specialty cargo shipments just in time for one of the biggest flower holidays of the year.

Floral shipments aside, the global transportation market has sadly not been rosy in recent weeks. May’s lead feature “Asia-Pacific under lockdown: Supply chain snarls tangle trade lanes,” considers the difficulties in east and westbound transportation from Asia, and particularly mainland China, as lockdowns temporarily halted manufacturing. Meanwhile, the ongoing war in Ukraine has contributed to difficulties in Asia-Europe trade lanes. At the same time as ex-China demand has temporarily lessened, however, market observers and freight forwarders are preparing for yet another demand surge as manufacturing capacity comes back online.

Innovation is at the forefront for air cargo operators, who are now employing new technologies to manage the disruption of the past two years. With this in mind, Air Cargo World will present a new live event, the Air Cargo Tech Summit, from June 6-7 at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami. We invite our audience to attend to learn what’s on the cutting edge for the industry. For more information and to register, visit the event’s home page here.

The Air Cargo World staff looks forward to catching up with you next month in Miami!

Caryn Livingston

Editor, Air Cargo World