What crisis logistics taught me about the value of airfreight forwarders
Freight forwarders play a vital role in air cargo and logistics operations, especially during increasingly frequent supply chains disruptions, and the Airforwarders Association (AfA) will continue to evolve with three priorities.
I have spent more than 25 years working across aviation, logistics and humanitarian response. At Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, I led airline campaigns including a $4bn plus engine and services agreement, the largest in the company's history.
I then spent 13 years building Airlink, where aviation and logistics served a different purpose: getting aid to people affected by disasters, conflict and public health emergencies.
At Airlink, more than 50 airlines and logistics companies worked alongside 250 humanitarian organisations to respond to more than 200 disasters and crises in 100 countries, including the Ebola outbreak, Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the 2023 Turkey earthquake. Each time, essential supplies had to move quickly when established routes were disrupted.
That is where air cargo proves its value. When conditions change, this industry finds capacity, develops alternative routings, solves regulatory problems and reconnects places that might otherwise be cut off.
In a humanitarian response, that capability saves lives. In commercial supply chains, it keeps production lines running, medicines moving and businesses connected to their customers.
In 2025, I served as a subject matter expert to NATO on public-private cooperation in crisis response and resilience planning. The clearest shift I saw is that logistics is now treated as critical infrastructure.
Resilient civil transport is one of NATO's baseline requirements for national resilience, and at The Hague last year allies committed up to 1.5% of GDP to protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening civil preparedness.
Much of the capacity those plans depend on is commercial, and much of it is arranged by forwarders. Commercial air cargo now faces sustained pressure of its own.
Conflicts disrupt trade lanes, costs remain under pressure, trade policy is hard to predict, and congestion and cargo theft compound the strain.
Forwarders sit at the centre of that. They find alternatives when routes change, manage new requirements, secure capacity, and keep goods moving.
They are often the first to see when a policy or infrastructure decision has unintended consequences for trade. That operational experience needs to be heard, and it is why I was drawn to lead the Airforwarders Association (AfA).
The AfA already has a strong foundation. Over 21 years, Brandon Fried built the Association into the voice of more than 225 member companies, from family-owned forwarders to global logistics providers. I am grateful for his work and his support during the transition.
Three priorities
Three priorities will shape my early focus. The first is predictability. Forwarders adapt for a living, but businesses still need enough certainty to plan capacity, invest, and price services. A change to a tariff, customs rule or security requirement affects costs, capacity, and transit times across an entire supply chain.
Our role is to bring members' experience into those decisions before they take effect, and to press for requirements that protect cargo while remaining workable for the businesses moving it.
The second is the whole cargo journey. Airfreight's speed advantage means little cargo is stuck in congestion outside an airport, delayed by inadequate facilities or stolen from a truck.
However, last year the US Government Accountability Office confirmed what our members see every day: ageing cargo facilities, poor truck access and limited federal data on air cargo.
The next step is turning those findings into better facilities and truck access, with forwarders helping decide where investment goes. Cargo theft legislation passed the House 348-60 in May, and the AfA is pressing the Senate to finish the job.
The third is looking beyond Washington. Air cargo is inherently international, and decisions made by foreign governments and global industry bodies on customs, security and commercial terms can affect our members as quickly as decisions made at home. US forwarders need a voice wherever those rules are written.
Underpinning all of this is value for every member, whatever their size. A five-person forwarder and a multinational logistics provider should both see a clear return: useful guidance on changing requirements, access to industry partners, and a say in shaping our advocacy. We will start by listening to what they need.
Every chapter of my career has reinforced the same point: supply chains work best when relationships are strong, infrastructure is fit for purpose, and people with operational experience have a voice in the decisions that affect them.
That is what freight forwarders bring to global trade every day. My job is to make sure they are heard, in Washington and beyond.
In September, the Airforwarders Association (AfA) named Steve Smith as its new chief executive to take over from Brandon Fried.
Fried, who has led the AfA for 21 years and announced his retirement in February, is now assisting Smith during a transition period, allowing him to assume responsibility for the new role gradually as the AfA continues its advocacy work.
