‘Awash with cash’: Global shipping companies now want to fly their goods too

Ocean freight companies are adding air cargo to their businesses as shippers look for a “one-stop shop” to move goods around the world. “We are finding out more and more that our customers really need an end-to-end logistics solution,” said Michel Pozas Lucic, Moller Maersk’s global head of air freight. “They’re looking for this one-stop-shop that takes away not only the complexity of the logistics, but also makes it an optimized, efficient and effective solution,” he added. Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping firm, launched an air cargo division in April and now has a fleet of 15 aircraft, while competitor CMA CGM started its air division last year and will have 12 airplanes in operation by 2026. Supply chain disruptions created a need for goods to be flown, Pozas Lucic said. “For most of our customers, air is part of what they need, either because of the speed that they need for their specific products, or because of a disruption … [and] ocean freight would be not ideal because it takes too long, so we realized that it’s important to have air as part of the puzzle,” he said. Demand for air cargo is higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the International Air Transport Association, up 2.2% for the first half of the year compared with 2019 levels. The pandemic raised the profile of supply chains, according to Marc Zeck, an analyst at wealth management firm Stifel. “The last three years have shown quite a lot of companies that their logistics divisions are not up to the task,” Zeck said. “Nobody cared really about supply chains … before the pandemic started. Now, it’s an issue or a topic for executive boards,” he added.<br/>