CFR adds new routes as airfreight imports grow

Economic factors notwithstanding, airfreight imports are on an upward trajectory for independent consolidator CFR Freight’s airfreight division. The company chose the contracted airspace option late last year, securing capacity on high-density routes and it’s paid enormous dividends, says general manager airfreight, Dave Graham. “We launched the concept last September on the China/Hong Kong and Amsterdam routes, using our Air Cargo Group partners in these origin countries. “On the back of that success we added India three months ago with our Air Cargo Group partner Team Global and we’ve just launched the US route in partnership with Shipco.” Demonstrating customer demand for the service, two days after sending out a marketing flyer, the company had processed 374 formal estimates from the US. New York is the company’s major origin point, but with direct services from the US limited to SAA and Delta Airlines, CFR has secured allocated capacity on Swiss out of New York as well as Delta and Emirates. “We’re gatewaying out of 11 hubs in the US from west to east coast with allocated capacity on all of them – the main being the Swiss service which is unitised traffic out of New York.” And while these services initially attracted business from smaller forwarders, there’s a growing trend to more and more big-name forwarders using them, particularly out of China, Hong Kong and Amsterdam, says Graham. “This is because we have access to capacity and are apparently able to offer rates that they just can’t get out of their own offices. We make money by mixing cargo which enables us to offer extremely competitive rates.” Next on the schedule will be a service from Germany in the first quarter of next year, possibly followed by the UK. Because the company’s capacity contracts are based on long-term commitment to the airlines, the service caters for those customers who are prepared to give a long-term commitment to CFR. “This enables us to offer a 12-month product in the market – not just capacity in the off-peak season, but access when capacity is at a premium.” While the stronger rand is perceived to create barriers to import growth, Graham is confident that airfreight imports will continue to flourish. “The SA market has always been import-dominant, and that is unlikely to change. “We expect our named-day consolidation product to continue to grow – that cargo will likely fly anyway, but we can ensure that it does so on time and at the best