SHORT SHOTS

All that glitters is not gold… it could just be a truck
Ah, but it is, indeed, a Golden Truck, emblazoned with DB Schenker in both European and Arabic lettering down each side. Already the largest trucker across Europe, DB Schenker is now literally making (positive) inroads and establishing a road feeder presence in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA). Its Golden Trucks are the company’s reaction to the current peak road feeder service demand, and in preparation of continued growth: “land transport is estimated to grow at a CAGR rate of 4.7%”, the press release reveals for MEA. “Although this is driving interregional trade – making land transport often the first choice for the supply chain. Unfortunately, it has not always been able to keep up with the demand. In MEA, the industry is fragmented with many smaller, local operators unable to provide a quality service or support regional demands. Only a handful of professional service providers are able to offer reliable end-to-end land transport at a cost that goods can sustain.”
DB Schenker is stepping in to become the professional provider of choice, extolling its “150 years of experience, best in class digital tools, and an established network of assets and partnerships” with a concentrated customer focus. Eyad Karadsheh, VP of Land Transport for DB Schenker in Middle East & Africa said: “The Golden Truck is our pride. We are dedicated to our customers' requirements by continuously expanding our capabilities... and intend to continue building upon the trucking legacy we have already established in Europe. We want everyone to know that we are here and that we are eager to grow our MEA land capabilities.”
Christopher Smith, Regional CEO for DB Schenker in Middle East & Africa, commented: “Our DNA of having a collaborative culture, great teamwork, “best in class” talent, and our commitment to growing every individual within our organization will always make us stronger. We are very pleased that the Golden Truck will remind everyone of the vast inroads we are making into this very important market and that we are here to stay.”
Its Golden Truck plan is one part of three key MEA targets, which include customized, interregional LTL/FTL solutions for all industry verticals, best-in-class digital experience with end-to-end visibility, and clean logistics “driving community initiatives in the region and education of our workforce.”

Cargolux upgrades its fleet to the cleaner B777-8
At the Farnborough International Airshow on 21JUL22, Cargolux and Boeing revealed that Europe’s largest Boeing wide-body fleet operator largest all-cargo airline, has opted to replace its aging B747-400 fleet with the plane maker’s newest variant: the B777-8, over the course of this decade. Not too surprising, since the relationship between the two companies dates by to 1973, when Cargolux set out with a Douglas DC-8 Freighter, and its first B747-200, “City of Luxembourg” freighter entering operations in 1977. It currently operates a fleet of 30 747-400 and 747-8 Freighters.
Richard Forson, President and CEO of Cargolux, announced: “With the 777-8 Freighter being the preferred solution to replace our 747-400s, Cargolux is looking forward to continuing its ongoing relationship with Boeing.” Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ President and CEO, Stan Deal pointed to the sustainability advantages, this decision brings: “With the selection of our newest freighter as their preferred solution, Cargolux continues its long and enduring history with Boeing, integrating the 777-8F seamlessly into the airline's all-747 cargo operations. With its investment in the 777-8 Freighter, Cargolux will operate the most advanced, fuel-efficient, twin-engine freighter in the industry. The 777-8 Freighter significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared to previous models with a reduced noise footprint, helping to advance Cargolux's commitment to sustainable operations.”
In terms of payload and range, the 777-8 Freighter is almost identical to its 747-400 Freighter predecessor, but enables 30% better fuel efficiency and emissions, resulting in a 25% improvement in operating costs per ton. Attractive features that have led to over 50 orders already since Boeing launched the model this January. “With advanced technology from the new 777X family and proven performance of the market-leading 777 Freighter, the 777-8 Freighter offers the highest payload and the lowest fuel use, emissions and operating cost per ton of any large freighter,” the release boasts, and Boeing recently forecast an extraordinary growth path: “an 80% increase in the global freighter fleet through 2041, including approximately 940 new widebody freighters such as the new 777-8 Freighter” – see CFG’s article:

https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2022/07/17/boeing-forecasts-strong-cargo-growth/

The first 777-8 Freighter is due to be delivered in 2027.

DRONAMICS in Quickstep down under
DRONAMICS has chosen its first manufacturing partner and opted for Australia’s largest, independent aerospace composites firm, Quickstep Holdings Limited. A tier one manufacturer, Quickstep will begin full-scale cargo drone manufacturing at its Australian facilities, with the first drones going into operation next year. The strategic partnership announcement was made at the Farnborough International Airshow on 18JUL22. Over the next four years, DRONAMICS is planning to ramp-up to have hundreds of Black Swans being produced each year. It recently gained the authorization as the first European drone airline, aiming to enter commercial operations by the end of this year. It is also in partnership with Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, to take off next summer on their behalf - CFG reported: https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2022/04/24/exclusive-the-black-swan-is-about-to-take-off/

The drone provider is eyeing Australian operations from next year.
Konstantin Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of DRONAMICS, said: “The first strategic manufacturing partnership is a key milestone in our mission to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere. As an innovator who is challenging the status quo in cargo mobility, we are thrilled to have the support of an experienced partner like Quickstep to help us realize the full potential of our solution.”
Mark Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of Quickstep, stated: “Quickstep shares Dronamics’ passion for innovation, and this is an exciting partnership. We are delighted to be taking their Black Swan aircraft from prototype to production. The Dronamics solution could well revolutionize the middle-mile cargo delivery sector, and this partnership gives Quickstep the opportunity to provide our engineering and manufacturing expertise into delivering a large, sophisticated cargo drone. This is also a great opportunity to advance the Australian aerospace sector, something we are very passionate about.”

More Middle Corridor services on the New Silk Road
“We expect demand for road transports to increase as China re-opens its borders, having closed them as a result of the coronavirus. The fact that we have long-term contracts with reliable regional partners means that we can offer our customers sufficient cargo space, regular services, and acceptable transport times,” Thomas Moser, Director and Regional Manager Black Sea/CIS at Gebrüder Weiss, explains, talking about the latest expansion to Gebrüder Weiss’ road feeder service network.
The Austrian logistics company announced on 19JUL22, that it is increasing its services on the New Silk Road to transport goods between Europe, Turkey and China, as a reaction to rising demand. “The focus here is on routes along the Middle Corridor of the historic trade route that run through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to China. This route is geographically shorter and links up directly with services that Gebrüder Weiss operates every day between West and South-East Europe, Turkey and Tbilisi (Georgia),” the press release reveals. Its logistics hubs in Tbilisi and Almaty (Kazakhstan) will redistribute cargo for onforwarding by road, sea, or rail Central Asia countries and China, in part along the New Silk Road. Over the past two decades and beyond, Gebrüder Weiss has built up a logistical network to support industries in the developing markets along the established trading route, and operates local branches in Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and China. They organize the various direct connections not only between Europe and Asia, but also within and between the countries of Central Asia, offering multimodal solutions including truck and rail transports, air and sea freight, customs clearance, warehouse logistics, and e-fulfillment.

Kale and CHI Aviation Handling extend digital contract
“We have chosen to continue partnering with Kale to help support our digital transformation vision; we need a reliable IT system that can be easily implemented at every airport station where we are operating, and Kale's GALAXY is the best fit solution,” Dominik Misskampf, Managing Director, CHI Aviation Handling at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, said, adding: “We share a common desire with Kale to create digital channels that make a difference in serving all our customers, both businesses and consumers, by increasing accessibility to our service and improving our response times. Working with a world leader in technology services and digital delivery, whose values reflect our own, is a significant milestone in our digital journey and we are looking forward to delivering on our ambitious plans.”
The German ground handler and air cargo services provider is one of a number of customers as 85+ airports across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India, to rely on Kale’s GALAXY cargo management system for their import, export, and transit cargo operations. CHI Aviation Handling has already experienced an increase in efficiency and productivity thanks to Kale’s solutions, and has therefore opted to extend the partnership by another five years, to further digitalize its cargo handling business. “With the GALAXY cargo handling software, CHI benefits from full automation of processes, clear visibility, control, collaboration, and seamless integration within the stakeholder network,” the release explains.
Amar More, CEO & Co-Founder of Kale Logistics Solutions, commented: “CHI has been a valuable partner as one of our long-standing clients. Over the years, they have offered day-to-day inputs on operations, based on which we have refined our cargo management system, GALAXY. This gives us the opportunity to serve them even better in the coming years and has strengthened our collaboration in the German air cargo sector, and we are pleased to be their partner of choice for future-proofing their technologies and managing their digital transformation strategy.”

Saudia Cargo sponsors the country’s premiere female rally driver
In 2018, Saudi Arabia finally lifted the driving ban on women that had been in effect since 1957 and stopped being the only country in the world preventing women from driving. Interestingly, in MAR22, the country hosted its very first female-only “Rally Jameel” [pretty rally(!)] across the world’s largest sand desert, the Rub’ al Khali, in which 68 women participated, forming 34 teams from 15 countries.
Saudia’s first and foremost rally driver, 34-year-old systems engineer, Mashael Al-Obaidan, who already has a couple of international rallies under her belt, recently participated in the World Cup third round, Cross-Country Rally "Baja", which took place in Italy from 08-10JUL22. She scored a position in the top 20. Her participation was sponsored again by Saudia Cargo, who already supported her participation during the previous stage at the last Dakar Rally in the Kingdom. Saudia Cargo has taken it upon itself to highlight the presence of Saudi women in international forums and global sports competitions, in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision to support talented women who inspire their communities.
“Mashael Al-Obaidan established her rally driver credentials as the first Saudi and Gulf woman to participate in a world rally in Europe, through her participation in the 2021 Baja Aragoan Rally Spain, which is the fifth round of the Baja Cross Country Championship organized by the FIA. This is in addition to achieving second place in the T3 category in the Ha’il International Rally, the last round of the Cross-Country World Championship, and her participation in the Dakar Rally 2022, which was hosted by the Kingdom for the third year in a row, with the involvement of 70 different nationalities from all categories of the rally,” the press release reveals, going on to explain: “Mashael Al-Obaidan and Saudia Cargo are working in partnership because they share the same ambition of taking on difficult challenges to achieve success, whether on the ground or in the air.” In particular, performance, reliability, and agility are required, which are also indicative of Saudia Cargo’s brand image, the airline explains. While Mashael Al-Obaidan demonstrates endurance and grit in navigating her way to the finish line, Saudia Cargo performs shows similar initiative in ensuring the continuation of the world’s supply chains through its network.

Brigitte Gledhill

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