Roadfreight competes with air among cost-conscious customers

Ever-increasing fuel costs have dramatically affected the domestic airfreight industry, according to Llewellyn Nel, joint CEO (sales and marketing) of the Transit Group. This impact has been apparent in the group’s domestic wholesale airfreight division, whose customers are from the courier industry. “In the last year, fuel has gone up by 54%,” Nel said. “Fuel rates/costs are set by the airlines, and therefore passed on directly to the freight/cargo companies. “Further economic strain on the industry has resulted in a paradigm shift in terms of the services and products offered and used. Obviously cost-cutting has been a major focus for all involved in our industry – for example, cargo which may have been deemed overnight express freight on previous occasions now flies at a lower-graded service.” Furthermore economy airfreight has now become a roadfreight product, as cost-savings intensify even further, Nel added. Predominantly, during the last three months of the year, an annual peak season is expected. However, during the past two years, a noticeable slump has indicated that a big part of the airfreight product has migrated to road, according to Nel. “In line with market trends,” he told FTW, “Transit’s vision has also changed. The ultimate aim is to provide a complete, seamless, freight solutions network. Separate divisions now include roadfreight, regional deliveries, information technology (IT) tracking, as well as a stationery division – all of which are added-value services offered by the group.” Also, according to Nel, the company has gone through a major re-branding. “It’s been more than just new logos and smarter uniforms,” he said. “Living up to our new brand we are focusing on training – and fostering a mindset of change. Our strategy is to embrace the constant change in the industry to stay ahead of our game.”