With cargo growth outpacing that of passenger traffic on intercontinental routes from North America, freight matters more than ever to airports of all sizes, said David Hoppin, principal of the MergeGlobal consultancy, at Network 2005. But despite this, there is a "lack of representation from airports" to cargo carriers, he said.
Hoppin warned that many airports draw attention to the wrong things when making their pitch and should instead focus on their local logistical support, such as road and rail networks, as well as what the region has to offer. Instead of planning for the next year, airports need to think ahead to the next decade and "think niche, not scattergun approach".
Air cargo demand in the USA is concentrated outside major metropolitan areas, close to manufacturing plants and distribution centres as in Ohio and the Carolinas.
When asked whether they were planning new US hubs, cargo experts at Network spoke of consolidation or expansion at existing gateways. But Richard Palmer, business unit manager Latin America of global freight forwarder Panalpina, which currently has six US hubs, said his company was studying an additional West Coast location.
Peter Diefenbach, senior adviser, the Americas at Nippon Cargo Airlines, predicted that in the next five years, transpacific markets will generate the most new air freight traffic to and from the USA. For UPS too, Asia, and in particular China, is offering the best opportunities for growth. Michael McLary, director of marketing strategy, said the carrier will start up twice-daily services to Shanghai and add a new daily service to Guangzhou in 2006.
Source: Airline Business
