THE air cargo industry may face increased competition from the maritime, road and rail sectors as changes take place that shorten the distances within supply chains, reports London's Air Cargo News.
Speaking about 'Strategic priorities for post-pandemic supply chains' at the transport logistic and air cargo Southeast Asia in Singapore, supply chain specialist Mark Miller said global supply chains and trade flows will be diversified and reconfigured and this could mean airfreight is less necessary than other transport modes.
Geographical shifts in production result in more regional logistics, Mr Miller explained. Regional supply chains mean shorter distances and there may be 'less intercontinental movements'.
He said: 'I could see a situation where the transit time difference in a regional supply chain, the difference between airfreight and sea freight is a matter of a few days whereas in a global supply chain it's a matter of a few weeks.
'So if it's a regional supply chain we can see some airfreights migrate into sea freight.'
He added that ground transportation may also be used more in regional supply chains, depending on the countries and terrain involved.
'Ground transportation networks really come into play in regional supply chains for road and rail freight.'
However, he noted intercontinental supply chains will continue to grow, supporting the need for airfreight, although he said growth may not be as strong as previously.
Air Cargo News asked Mr Miller what airfreight companies can do to safeguard their business following decreased demand after the post Covid boom, and with the potential impact of changing supply chains and the shift of business back to sea freight.
The air cargo industry should focus on meeting demand from customers for whom speed is critical, he said.
'If we think about our region here (Southeast Asia), airfreight is going to be three days and sea freight's going to be four or five days, so what would be the decision-making criteria for taking it off a plane and putting it on a ship if it's only one or two days.
'I think the opportunities are to look at the specific areas of airfreight which really demand airfreight - and its speed, in temperature control, door to door, time definite, and the aftermarket in critical sectors that really need rapid, time definite solutions so I would suggest that's an area to concentrate on to develop those capabilities.'
Additionally, he stated that e-commerce is boosting cross-border trade and logistics business: 'Logistics becomes the new retail as e-commerce becomes the new normal.'
More broadly speaking, Mr Miller said businesses should support supply chain diversification with three strategic priorities: resilience, sustainability and digitalisation.
SeaNews Turkey
Speaking about 'Strategic priorities for post-pandemic supply chains' at the transport logistic and air cargo Southeast Asia in Singapore, supply chain specialist Mark Miller said global supply chains and trade flows will be diversified and reconfigured and this could mean airfreight is less necessary than other transport modes.
Geographical shifts in production result in more regional logistics, Mr Miller explained. Regional supply chains mean shorter distances and there may be 'less intercontinental movements'.
He said: 'I could see a situation where the transit time difference in a regional supply chain, the difference between airfreight and sea freight is a matter of a few days whereas in a global supply chain it's a matter of a few weeks.
'So if it's a regional supply chain we can see some airfreights migrate into sea freight.'
He added that ground transportation may also be used more in regional supply chains, depending on the countries and terrain involved.
'Ground transportation networks really come into play in regional supply chains for road and rail freight.'
However, he noted intercontinental supply chains will continue to grow, supporting the need for airfreight, although he said growth may not be as strong as previously.
Air Cargo News asked Mr Miller what airfreight companies can do to safeguard their business following decreased demand after the post Covid boom, and with the potential impact of changing supply chains and the shift of business back to sea freight.
The air cargo industry should focus on meeting demand from customers for whom speed is critical, he said.
'If we think about our region here (Southeast Asia), airfreight is going to be three days and sea freight's going to be four or five days, so what would be the decision-making criteria for taking it off a plane and putting it on a ship if it's only one or two days.
'I think the opportunities are to look at the specific areas of airfreight which really demand airfreight - and its speed, in temperature control, door to door, time definite, and the aftermarket in critical sectors that really need rapid, time definite solutions so I would suggest that's an area to concentrate on to develop those capabilities.'
Additionally, he stated that e-commerce is boosting cross-border trade and logistics business: 'Logistics becomes the new retail as e-commerce becomes the new normal.'
More broadly speaking, Mr Miller said businesses should support supply chain diversification with three strategic priorities: resilience, sustainability and digitalisation.
SeaNews Turkey
