Ushering in paperless freight

The cover story in the January edition discusses e-freight and what it means for the air cargo industry. The story by Surya Kannoth says even as IATA’s e-freight mission has been gathering steam, government regulations, barriers in information and communications technology, and the failure to achieve a critical mass of users to achieve network-effect benefits have prevented the e-freight initiative from being universally adopted. The commodity report by Namrata More says the air cargo industry is gearing up for the flower season. With newer markets in Latin America and Africa opening up for flower exports, Europe continues to be a major importer. The regional report is on BRICS nations, which according to the report by Reji John, hold 40 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the global GDP and that the five-nation economy is steering a new world order. In a trend report on priority air cargo, the focus is on how carriers are gearing up to offer the best service in this segment. In the leaders speak segment we have Halit Anlatan, VP, Cargo, Turkish Airlines, talking about the new growth chapter for 2015. In the shipping section, read the story on Ro-Ro. Industry estimates suggest that as many as seven new plants are expected to open between 2013 and 2020, and vehicle production in the US, Canada and Mexico is expected to expand from 16.2 million units in 2014 to about 19 million units by 2020. What do these figures signify for Ro-Ro vehicular trade? And finally read about the second edition of the European marine business show Euromaritime scheduled for February in Paris.