Air forwarders need better communication to meet demand

Air freight forwarders can rise to the challenge of an impending surge in demand for air cargo capacity through better communication, Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association told members of the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association (LAACA) on Sunday.

The capacity crunch will be driven by a perfect storm of cancelled China to U.S. sailings, congestion at U.S. airports, warehouse scarcity, labour shortage and rising inflation, he said.

“The challenges for ocean carriers are well documented and we understand that they are looking after profit margins, but air capacity is already constrained by multiple factors,” said Fried.

“Congestion at major airports is exacerbating the strain on supply chains across the U.S.

“To rise to these challenges, the air forwarding community must better communicate with each other and learn to be adaptable.

“AfA is already meeting this challenge, driving the debate and developing new strategies to help the industry unite and find a common voice.”

Last month, AfA launched its Airport Congestion Committee (ACC). Set up to find realistic solutions to relieve airport congestion, the ACC will present findings to private, public, and government entities as workable policies for urgent new legislation.

“The air cargo community, and the transport industry at large, has been served up an alphabet of disasters over the past few years but AfA has continued to support its members and campaign for the air cargo community at large,” said Fried.

“We do this not only through lobbying on behalf of our members but also by actively creating solutions to speed up the passing of necessary legislation by the US government.”

Fried was speaking at the LAACA June meeting in Manhattan Beach, California.