Editor’s Note: Halfway there

Aside from the end of another school year (virtual or otherwise), longer days in the northern hemisphere and hopefully some well-deserved time off with family, this June ushers in the second half of another strange year defined by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move into 2021’s second half presents businesses with the chance to take stock of progress toward goals, plan for success with the approach of another peak season and reflect on what has been accomplished so far in 2021.

This June, we are also looking further back to 2020. Although some readers and much of the world are ready to consign 2020 to history — if not to the dustbin — we at Air Cargo World hope that by reflecting on the challenges and successes of the year, we can prepare for the difficulties that are bound to arise in the future. This June, we are proud to bring you our annual Power 25 ranking of the world’s top airfreight forwarders, based on 2020 tonnage.

While 2020 presented a host of previously unimagined challenges, a look at forwarder performance during the year revealed some surprising successes and trends expected for 2021 and beyond. Full analysis of the Power 25, as well as our selection for three forwarders to watch this year, can be found in the feature story, “The Power 25: Top forwarders rise above 2020’s capacity crunch.”

June’s forwarder focus continues in our second feature story, which breaks down some of the tactics 3PLs and their carrier partners have developed to circumvent, succeed in spite of, or outlast the pandemic’s impact on aviation and global logistics more generally. From digital initiatives to cargo charter agreements, details of the newly emerged strategies can be found in “New times, new rules: How the pandemic redefined the carrier-forwarder relationship,” by Associate Editor Kelly Stroh.

June also delivered the second in Air Cargo World’s 2021 webinar series, which brought together carriers and freight forwarders to discuss how they have handled their cooperation so far, and what they expect from the airfreight market going forward. We look forward to bringing you the next in the webinar series, “Spotlight on ULDs: Blueprints for container best practices,” on Aug. 4. Stay tuned to AirCargoWorld.com for more information soon.

Caryn Livingston
Editor, Air Cargo World