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Cathay Cargo sees volumes grow in August while HKIA records a drop

Cathay Cargo continued to see its airfreight volumes rise in August despite the challenge presented by the European Union's (EU) new charge for e-commerce packages. The Hong Kong-based carrier saw cargo carried in tonnage terms in August increase by 8.6% year on year to 151,904 tonnes, beating the year-to-date increase of 8.2%. Meanwhile, demand in revenue freight tonne kms increased by the lower amount of 3.1%, suggesting that the airline has been carrying more cargo but over shorter distances than last year - perhaps a reflection of a greater focus on Southeast Asia. The increase also comes despite the EU adding a €3 charge per package with a value of less than €150, which is estimated to have caused a 24% decline in e-commerce volumes heading from China to Europe in July compared with June. Elsewhere, the carrier's capacity in available freight tonne-km terms in August was up 1.4% and the cargo load factor improved by 0.9 percentage points to 57.4%. Cathay chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: "Cargo tonnage in August was supported by healthy demand across our key markets. Demand for Cathay Expert was driven by robust semiconductor shipments within Asia, while Cathay Pharma reported notable growth from Europe and the Chinese Mainland. "Cargo tonnage in August was supported by healthy demand across our key markets. Demand for Cathay Expert was driven by robust semiconductor shipments within Asia, while Cathay Pharma reported notable growth from Europe and the Chinese Mainland. Our Cathay Priority solution also continued to perform well, reflecting shippers' need to replenish inventory ahead of the traditional year-end air cargo peak. "Our Cathay Priority solution also continued to perform well, reflecting shippers' need to replenish inventory ahead of the traditional year-end air cargo peak." On outlook, she said: "Demand is expected to remain strong, supported in part by high-tech product launches and rising demand as we enter the traditional air cargo peak season." HKIA drop off While tonnages at Cathay continued to climb in August, Hong Kong International Airport saw volumes decline 1.2% year on year in August to 428,000 tonnes. This compared with a year-to-date increase of 2.7%. Volumes also declined in July following the implementation of the new EU charge. "Exports declined by 8.8% year on year, partially offset by 18.2% growth in transshipments and 3.6% growth in imports. Among key trading regions, Southeast Asia and the Chinese Mainland remained resilient, helping to cushion softer traffic with Europe and the Middle East amid evolving regional trade dynamics," the airport authority said.

EU shippers face €572m ETS bill - but Felixstowe calls slash exposure

A new report measuring carbon emissions from ocean transport has revealed that EU shippers have faced more than an extra half-billion euros in costs in the second quarter of this year due to Emissions Trading System (ETS) charges. The EU ETS Surcharges vs. Actual Voyage Exposure: What Shipment Execution Data Reveals report, authored by freight intelligence platform VesselBot also showed how continental European importers whose containers are on vessels that call at non-EU European ports - particularly Felixstowe - before they enter EU waters, face significantly lower ETS charges. In the second quarter there were more than 20,000 separate container ship voyages that fell within the scope of the EU's ETS - voyages either between EU ports, or to an EU port from outside the bloc - which altogether emitted 11.8m tonnes of CO2e. Based on the mix of intra-EU voyages, which are currently subject to a 100% carbon levy, and non-EU-EU voyages, subject to 50%, 7.15m tonnes were subject to allowance surrender and based on EU Allowances trading at circa €80 per tonne at the end of the period, "the allowances required to cover these emissions would represent an estimated €572.4 million in carbon costs for Q2 alone". VesselBot's digital twin analysis further calculates that the total volume collectively carried over the second quarter was 42.8m teu, putting the "estimated EU ETS exposure at approximately €13.4 per teu". Focusing on the Asia-North Europe trade, VesselBot applied the same analysis to a 31 Singapore-Rotterdam voyages undertaken by CMA CGM during the period and calculated a total ETS exposure of €14.69m across 566,300 teu, resulting a per teu exposure of €28.1 for cargo owners. CMA CGM's published Energy Transition Surcharge for Singapore-Rotterdam is €70 per teu, although VesselBot qualified that this included other costs. "This difference should not be interpreted as evidence of overcharging: the Energy Transition Surcharge also incorporates FuelEU Maritime costs and other carrier-specific commercial assumptions that fall outside the scope of this analysis," it says. However, it did demonstrate that EU ETS exposure was substantially reduced if the vessel inbound from Singapore made its first European port call in the UK before continental Europe, comparing shippers in Felixstowe and Zeebrugge. The Ocean Alliance's NEU1 service calls at Felixstowe immediately after Singapore and prior to Zeebrugge. The Singapore-Felixstowe leg falls entirely outside scope (0%), while only 50% of emissions on the subsequent Felixstowe-Zeebrugge leg are counted. Its analysis of seven Singapore-Felixstowe-Zeebrugge voyages calculated that 89,949 tonnes of CO2e in total were emitted, but because of the EU ETS limits only 451.1 tonnes were subject to allowance surrender, meaning that at €80 per tonne, the overall exposure across all seven voyages was €36,100. "At CMA CGM's published €70/TEU Energy Transition Surcharge, a 100-TEU shipment would incur €7,000 in charges. "By comparison, the estimated EU ETS liability of each observed voyage was approximately €4,400-€6,000. The comparison is not evidence of overcharging, it does, however, demonstrate how much a single routing choice can move the underlying EU ETS cost of a voyage, and how little a standardised surcharge can reveal about the ETS exposure of a specific shipment," VesselBot said.

Lufthansa Cargo adds emergency product for ultra urgent shipments

Lufthansa Cargo has added a new emergency product that can be tagged onto its other services for critical shipments that require absolute priority. The cargo division said that its new add-on service offers the "highest transport priority", regardless of the booked product, shipment size or weight and can even be used on short-notice bookings, up to the Latest Acceptance Time. "The service is tailored for highly critical shipments, both planned and unexpected, that require the highest transport priority and dedicated handling throughout the entire journey," Lufthansa Cargo explained. Emergency is available to be used as an add-on for the products General Cargo, Dangerous Goods, Passive Temp Support and Vulnerables, in combination with the td.Flash and td.Zoom speeds. It also includes a money-back guarantee if the shipment is not available for collection within six hours after the specified Time of Availability and can be booked online. The company said examples include urgently needed spare parts and machinery, as well as life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical samples, for which reliable transportation and guaranteed uplift must be ensured. Shipments booked with the add-on service Emergency are clearly identified and subject to enhanced monitoring throughout the transport operation. Additional dedicated monitoring is provided at Lufthansa Cargo's hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna. "In Frankfurt, shipments are handled around the clock via the time:matters Courier Terminal in Cargo City North. Its direct access to the apron and dedicated handling processes enable particularly short transfer routes and support fast, prioritised handling," the division explained. The service also includes 24/7 customer service that will monitor the shipment so irregularities can be identified at an early stage, and appropriate corrective measures can be taken. It is available across the Lufthansa Group network at more than 200 stations worldwide. The firm's add-on services allow customers to complement their bookings with additional services based on the product, speed and routing. In addition to Emergency, the portfolio includes Sustainable Choice, Personal Supervision, smartULD, toDoor, and Insurance. Lufthansa Cargo began integrating its various "add-on" services into the booking process to make it easier to select the optional products earlier this year.