CMA CGM buys 51% stake in Colis Privé Group

 The CMA CGM Group announced a preliminary agreement to acquire 51 percent stake from the HOPPS Group in the Colis Privé Group, France's leading player in deliveries to consumers.

 The agreement also gives CMA CGM the option of raising its interest in Colis Privé at a later date, according to an official statement from CMA CGM. The deal will strengthen the presence of CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM's logistics subsidiary, in e-commerce services, especially last-mile deliveries.

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Qatar Airways Cargo customers can now check carbon emissions

 Qatar Airways Cargo customers can now determine the carbon emissions of their shipments via an online emission calculator as the airline works on developing a fully integrated carbon offsetting solution.

Qatar Airways Cargo customers now have access to a simple carbon emission calculator available at https://www.qrcargo.com/calculate-emissions.

The calculator quickly determines the shipment's total CO2 emissions in kilos or pounds, depending on customer preference. The user simply enters the shipment's origin, destination, flight date, and weight to obtain the different flight options and their respective carbon emissions.

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dnata invests €200 million in fully-automated cargo facility at Schiphol Airport

 dnata announces a huge investment of €200 million in a fully automated cargo centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), to be called as dnata Cargo City Amsterdam.

As one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will significantly enhance cargo capacity in The Netherlands and create new, direct jobs with dnata. It will enable dnata and its customers to substantially expand operations and business, stimulating local economy and trade.

Located at Schiphol South-East, the 61,000 sq meter facility will include increased, 19,000 sq meter warehouse space, and be capable of processing over 850,000 tonnes of cargo annually. It will comply with the highest industry standards ensuring efficient and safe handling of all types of cargo, including perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, mail, live animals, aircraft engines and vehicles. The facility is scheduled to become operational in 2024.

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2021 global air cargo registers second biggest demand growth since 2010

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that full-year demand for air cargo increased by 6.9 percent in 2021, compared to 2019 (pre-covid levels) and 18.7 percent compared to 2020 following a strong performance in December 2021.

This was the second biggest improvement in year-on-year demand since IATA started to monitor cargo performance in 1990 (behind 2010's 20.6 percent gain), outpacing the 9.8 percent rise in global goods trade by 8.9 percentage points.

Capacity in 2021, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was 10.9 percent below 2019 (12.8 percent for international operations). Capacity remains constrained with bottlenecks at key hubs.

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CEVA partners with Ferrari, to be team partner of Scuderia Ferrari

CEVA Logistics, part of the CMA CGM Group, has signed a global, multi-year partnership with Ferrari to support its racing activities as official logistics partner. CEVA will also serve as a team partner of Scuderia Ferrari, the most successful team ever in Formula 1 having won 239 races and 16 World Constructors' Championships, says an official statement from CEVA Logistics. 

"CEVA Logistics will provide all logistics support services for the Scuderia Ferrari cars and equipment for Grand Prix events as well as for the GT racing series and other Ferrari Challenge events."

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IAG Cargo adopts IATA Dangerous Goods AutoCheck system

 IAG Cargo, the cargo division of IAG (International Airlines Group) has adopted the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) newly developed Dangerous Goods AutoCheck (DG AutoCheck) to automate the acceptance of dangerous goods shipments from its London-Heathrow hub.

In March 2018, IATA announced the launch of Dangerous Goods Handling system, a digital solution that facilitates the acceptance of dangerous goods by checking all the regulations, rules and guidance contained in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) and converts them into an automated validation solution, enabling IAG Cargo to check the compliance for the Declaration for Dangerous Goods (DGD) against the latest industry regulations more quickly.

John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer, IAG Cargo said, "Every year IAG Cargo handles thousands of dangerous goods shipments - compliance checks on these complex consignments can be time consuming. Implementing the IATA DG AutoCheck platform will eliminate manual processes to transform and automate dangerous goods acceptance checks whilst increasing safety and operational efficiency."

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American Airlines renews for CHAMP's Traxon cargoHUB service

 Leading American airline American Airlines and CHAMP Cargosystems have extended their partnership for access to the largest air cargo community platform, Traxon cargoHUB. 

The carrier continues to rely on CHAMP's services for access to its vast global network of freight forwarders. American Airlines has been using CHAMP's solution for more than two decades. It has facilitated business with all community players via a single system regardless of message format or protocol.

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Wisk Aero secures $450 Million funding from The Boeing Company

 Wisk, a San Francisco Bay Area and New Zealand based leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the U.S., has secured $450 million in funding from The Boeing Company, making it one of the most well-funded AAM companies in the world.

 Combined with previous funding, this investment reinforces Wisk's strong position as a privately-backed AAM leader and highlights the strength of Wisk's strategic partnership with Boeing and their collaboration on critical technology development.

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Italian carrier ITA Airways gets joint bid from Lufthansa, MSC

 New Italian national carrier ITA Airways has received a joint bid from German carrier Lufthansa and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest container carrier by operating capacity, to buy a majority stake. 

"Both the MSC Group and Lufthansa have expressed the wish that the Italian Government maintains a minority stake in the company," ITA says in a statement. The bidders have requested 90 days of exclusivity to work on the details to submit an expression of interest (EoI).

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FedEx and Microsoft to launch new cross-platform logistics solution for e-commerce

FedEx and Microsoft will bring together FedEx network intelligence with capabilities from Microsoft Dynamics 365 to introduce a cross-platform "logistics as a service" for retailers, merchants and brands. The firms announced the next solution on Monday as part of their multiyear collaboration to transform commerce, supply chains and logistics. 

FedEx and Microsoft are using tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning to extrapolate new insights from the 17 million packages that pass through the FedEx network each day to help brands deliver improved customer experiences.

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Delta Cargo introduces SAF Program for its cargo customers to meet sustainability goals

 Delta Cargo announces the launch of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program to help grow the supply and availability of SAF. The program is in support of Delta's path to Net Zero and will help the cargo customers to reduce their environmental footprint. Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the best way to make a direct impact on emissions from aviation.

 Bio-based jet fuel production is a renewable process and can reduce life cycle emissions up to 75 per cent compared to fossil fuel. Through customized contributions to the Delta Cargo SAF program, freight forwarders and shippers can attain their sustainability goals.

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ANA group's FY 2022 flight schedule to focus on maximising freighter operation

 ANA Group has released its flight schedule for the financial year 2022, with a focus on maximising the operation of freighters and utilising passenger aircraft for cargo operations.

The airlines said they had planned the schedule, keeping in mind the strong and continued demand for cargo operations. "For the freighter routes, ANA will maximise the use of its 11 freighters through its network to operate charter flights and additional flights along with regularly scheduled flights to drive profitability. We will also utilise passenger aircraft to operate cargo flights to capture demand flexibly," ANA stated.

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Wingcopter signs $16 million contract with Spright for medical deliveries in the US

German drone delivery pioneer Wingcopter announced a new commercial agreement with Spright, a subsidiary of leading American air medical service provider Air Methods worth more than US $16 million.

As part of the deal Spright is acquiring a large fleet of Wingcopter's new flagship delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198, to meet the increasing demand for medical drone delivery solutions throughout the United States.

The contract makes Wingcopter the exclusive provider of fixed wing eVTOL delivery drone technology to Spright for use within its United States operations. Spright, in turn, becomes the exclusive provider of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for the Wingcopter 198 to third parties in the USA, an ideal fit thanks to its available infrastructure across the country.

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Modair launches tech-enabled air logistics company

 Enthused by the surging demand for airborne shipping, ModAir Aviation IFSC (Modair) is rapidly adding aircraft to its fleet with the aim to expand its air cargo business. Moving ahead at a great pace Modair has launched India's first tech-enabled air logistics company 'Modair Express'.

Modair Express will be enhancing the cargo experience by offering large varieties of products covering the customers' needs throughout India. "Modair Express is committed to satisfying requested demands by offering the best solutions mainly for cargo operation between Tier 1 to Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities," reads the release.

It aims to offer daily scheduled services linking many Indian cities to the main Indian cities. Thanks to its special small freighter aircraft, Modair Express offers flexibility in loading cargo, medicines, time-sensitive and any other type of cargo that requires special handling or care.

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Cathay Pacific cargo revenue up by 11.7 per cent in December 2021 vs 2020

 Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific released December 2021 traffic figures that says the airline's cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) in December 2021 rose by 11.7 per cent year-on-year, but were down 14.7 per cent compared to December 2019.

The report below shows the cargo performance of the airline for 2021 as compared to 2020 and 2019 along with an outlook for 2022.

Cargo traffic figures for December 2021

The airline carried 134,691 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 12 per cent compared to December 2020, but a 24.1 per cent decrease compared with the same period in 2019.

The cargo load factor increased by 4 per cent points to 84.3 per cent, while the capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) was up by 6.5 per cent year-on-year, but was down 32.9 per cent versus December 2019.

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dnata bags IATA's CEIV Pharma, Live Animals certifications in Brussels

 In a significant development, leading global air and travel services provider dnata has been certified by the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) for its industry-leading pharma and live animal handling processes at its cargo facilities and the Animal Care & Inspection Centre at Brussels Airport (BRU).

Stef Vanbinst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, said: "We are proud to be globally recognized for delivering reliable and safe services at our Brussels hub. These certifications demonstrate our team's ability to handle precious cargo under the strictest international standards, consistently providing best-in-class services to our customers.

He added, "I thank each member of our team for their hard work and commitment to our robust quality and compliance program that ensures service excellence at every stage of the handling process. We continue to invest in our operations to exceed our customers' expectations and cement our position as a leading cargo handler at Brussels Airport."

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Amazon Air begins daily cargo service at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport

 Amazon Air took off its inaugural daily cargo service flight at the Wichita Eisenhower National Airport, Kansas, United States. This is Amazon Air's first regional gateway in Kansas to support fast, efficient package deliveries to Amazon customers throughout the region and country.

Amazon Air flights will be operated by Silver Airways using an ATR72-500 aircraft and operate daily between Wichita and Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) says the official press release.

The Wichita Airport Authority leased 10,691 square feet in the air cargo terminal to Trego-Dugan Aviation who is contracted to sort and load Amazon packages bound for their next destination.

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EFW delivers first of many next-gen converted freighters to Altavair

 Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), a subsidiary of ST Engineering and Airbus recently announced the re-delivery of its first Airbus A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) converted aircraft to Altavair L.P., a global leader in commercial aviation finance and leasing providing the cargo community with valuable assets.

The re-delivered freighter is the first among a series of freighter conversions that EFW is carrying out for a new customer, Altavair, based on the proven and technologically advanced Airbus A330 platform. Altavair has on order several A330P2F comprising both the A330-200P2F range variant and the A330-300P2F volume variant.

"We are delighted to re-deliver our first converted freighter of 2022 to a new customer, Altavair, for operation by MasAir Cargo," said Andreas Sperl, CEO of EFW. "The A330P2F program is considered very popular in delivering best-in-class capability and fuel-efficiency. We are confident it will serve Altavair and MasAir Cargo well."

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Hong Kong Air Trade Index continues to be high, Covid big concern

 After reaching a 3.5- year high in Q42021, the overall DHL Hong Kong Air Trade Leading Index (DTI), developed by Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and commissioned by DHL Express (Hong Kong), has come down slightly recently. "Yet it is still the second highest reading since Q3 2018.

 A continuous improvement in local air traders' profitability status was seen this quarter. The latest survey marked for the very first time since the Covid-19 outbreak that an equal proportion of local air traders has reported gains and losses in their profitability status."

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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol records an increase in 2021 cargo throughput

 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol recently announced that the cargo throughput for 2021 escalated by 15.7 per cent to 1.66 million tonnes compared to 2020.

 Last year, inbound cargo volumes increased by 15.2 per cent to 869,241 tonnes in 2021 compared to 2020, and outbound cargo volumes also increased by 16.1 per cent to 798,063 tonnes during the same period. According to the report, Shanghai, China, Chicago, USA, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates were the top destinations for cargo by tonnage.

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Atlas Air extends long-term agreement with SF Group

Atlas Air, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, has extended its long-term aircraft transportation services agreement to operate a Boeing 747-400 Freighter for SF Group (SF), China's leading express service provider, between China and the United States. 

The agreement, which has been in place since 2018, enhances the operating capability of SF and extends its fast-growing global network.

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SEKO Logistics appoints chief legal officer, chief of staff to drive long term growth objectives

 Global Supply Chain Solutions provider SEKO Logistics has promoted Char L. Dalton to Chief Legal Officer & Chief of Staff to focus on the realization of the company’s long-term growth objectives.

 Reporting to SEKO’s President & CEO, James Gagne, and as a high-visibility member of the SEKO Executive team based at their global headquarters in Itasca, Illinois, this new role supports the CEO with the execution of strategic initiatives across all portfolio companies.

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ECS, Wiremind join forces to launch autonomous tech firm CargoTech

 ECS Group's Cargo Digital Factory and Wiremind Cargo (cargo business unit of Wiremind) are coordinating their digital expertise under a new technology-focused and autonomous company: CargoTech. Founded in 2014, Wiremind offers innovative SaaS revenue optimisation solutions for the transportation, logistics and events industries. 

"With the launch of CargoTech, ECS Group's inhouse solution developer, Cargo Digital Factory, and the French software and data-science company, Wiremind will focus their efforts on intelligently digitalising the air cargo industry. CargoTech also supports one of the four pillars of ECS Group's new Augmented GSA concept, comprising Commercial, Technology, Sustainability, and New Abilities," reads the release.

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RIOgaleão Cargo records high cargo flow in 2021

 RIOgaleão Cargo, the cargo terminal at Tom Jobim International Airport, recorded a greater volume of cargo handling in 2021 since the beginning of the pandemic. The value of imported goods in 2021 was US$ 8.5 billion, showing a growth of more than 16% when compared to 2019.

 In the fourth quarter of 2021, the terminal accounted for 13.6 thousand tons of imported and exported products, more than 16% compared to 2020. In terms of imports, the volumes were driven by the chemical, oil & gas, machinery, and equipment segments, in addition to the pharmaceutical industry.

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WFS grows partnership with Polar Air in North America

 Polar Air Cargo has expanded its cargo handling partnership with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in North America through a new long-term contract at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). 

Polar is a joint venture of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and DHL Express. As of December 2021, WFS is providing full warehouse handling services for the more than five million kilos of cargo carried each month by Polar's all-Boeing freighter fleet ex-LAX. WFS also manages handling for Atlas Air's scheduled and ad-hoc freighter service from Los Angeles.

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Delta FY2021 cargo revenue zooms past $1 billion

Strong holiday demand and higher yields saw Delta Air Lines report a 63 percent increase in cargo revenue to $304 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 compared to $187 million in the December quarter of 2019 and up 24 points sequentially (compared to the September quarter). 

For the year ended December 31, Delta Cargo revenue crossed $1 billion to $1.032 billion - an increase of 37 percent from $753 million in 2019.

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Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services launches online air cargo booking platform

 Leading African network operator Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services has recently launched a new feature that enables customers to make online reservations for their cargo.

 The platform enables customers to check flight schedules, space availability, loadability of freight and make real-time booking of their shipment in a convenient way on cargobooking.ethiopianairlines.com. Incidentally, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services is rolling out the online booking facility subsequent to its introduction of the mobile application to heighten its customer experience.

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GEODIS acquires American Eagle Outfitters contract in Japan

 GEODIS’ Japan office has been awarded a contract to support the retailer’s distribution centre by American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), the transport and logistics services provider announced.

 According to economists at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global e-Commerce growth has seen a dramatic rise across retail sales fueled by Covid-19, with a jump from 16 to 19 percent in 2020.

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project44 raises $420mn from Goldman, TPG, valued at $2.2bn

 Supply chain visibility platform project44 received an investment totaling $420 million from a syndicate led by Thoma Bravo, TPG and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Emergence Capital, Insight Partners, Chicago Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Sapphire and Sozo Ventures also participated in the funding round at a pre-money valuation of $2.2 billion. 

project44 had raised $202 million equity in May 2021 (at an approximate valuation of $1.2 billion), and has an annual run rate of $100+ million, 1,000+ team members, 1,000+ customers, and 1+ billion packages tracked annually.

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Kale Logistics partners with Private Sector Foundation Uganda to offer Logistics e-Marketplace

 Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) announces its partnership with Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to offer a Logistics e-Marketplace to stakeholders across the entire multimodal logistics ecosystem in Uganda. 

The e-Marketplace is an online portal for booking door-to-door cargo transportation services, offering competitive pricing and total transparency of the best shipment options across all modes of transport.

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Bluebird Nordic leases Boeing 777–300ER

 The Icelandic air freight company Bluebird Nordic leases three Boeing 777–300ER via its parent company Avia Solutions Group (ASG). Currently these aircrafts are in passenger configuration.

The aircrafts will begin conversion process in 2024 and will be utilised as cargo aircraft once the conversion is complete. The company already operates Boeing 737 aircraft, which are considerably smaller.

“The values of these leases are measured in hundreds of millions of USD, an achievement that Bluebird acknowledges would never have concluded without the assistance and support of its parent and sister companies. Through combined efforts, we have managed to secure wide-body aircraft for cargo haulage from 2024. Until then, Bluebird will operate the aircraft listed in our AOC as ‘preighters’ and VIP/Corporate Pax”, says Sigurour Agustsson, CEO, Bluebird Nordic.

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easyJet partners with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions

 easyJet, Europe’s leading airline announces its partnership with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) to support the development of its hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system for commercial aircraft.

This partnership is a part of the airline’s ambition to de-carbonise aviation, said the official release.

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is developing its hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system for an existing 9-seat Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, which is planned to be flying by 2023.

The purpose of partnering with easyJet is to understand how the adoption of zero-carbon technologies could integrate with an airline operation for future introduction of the technology.

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Airbus 2021 commercial aircraft deliveries up 8%

 Airbus delivered 611 commercial aircraft to 88 customers in 2021 - an increase of eight percent on good performances by the A220s and A320s.

Nearly 25 percent of commercial aircraft in 2021 were delivered using the established e-delivery process, allowing customers to receive aircraft with minimal need for their teams to travel, says an official statement from Airbus.

"In 2021, Airbus doubled its gross order intake compared to 2020 with 771 new sales (507 net) across all programmes and market segments demonstrating the strength of the company's full product range and signalling renewed market confidence," the statement added.

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Supporting equitable vaccine distribution across the world

 UPS has been at the forefront of the Covid-19 fight since February of 2020 providing logistic support for PPE deliveries, working with pharmaceutical companies in clinical trials for Covid vaccine under development and finally playing a very critical role in the global distribution of Covid vaccines that started in December 2020.

On December 14, 2021, UPS, one of the world's largest companies, with 2020 revenue of $84.6 billion, announced that it surpassed the one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered with 99.9 percent on-time performance to more than 110 countries.

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Drone delivers defibrillator, saves life

 Everdrone's Emergency Medical Aerial Delivery service (EMADE), an innovative link in the chain of life-saving measures of Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, played a crucial part in saving a life during a sudden cardiac arrest. 

An Everdrone autonomous drone delivered a defibrillator that helped save the life of a 71-year-old man. "This is a truly revolutionary technology that needs to be implemented all over," says the patient who now has made a full recovery.

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In E-Commerce push, Seafrigo Group opens fifth warehouse in New Jersey

 The number of Americans buying all types of groceries online nearly doubled in 2020 according to consumer research by NielsenIQ. To cater to the increased demand for specialist chilled and frozen goods, Seafrigo Group, the global specialist and leader in temperature-controlled food logistics, has announced that it will open a new dedicated facility in New Jersey in 2022.

Seafrigo Group already offers a full spectrum of Food Safety Inspection Services for imports and exports into the USA. As an approved inspection center at the Port of New York/New Jersey, it is able to partially or totally manage shipments across a range of different services including drayage from/to port or, storage (Chilled, Frozen and Ambient), Lab test requested USDA, special labeling for different foreign languages and repacking to ensure freight is secure for export onforwarding such as for e-commerce customers.

Already operating from four facilities in the same area, the new state-of-the-art 85,000 sq foot facility will provide additional, fully automated capacity in order to cater to customer fulfillment requirements. Key among the value-added services that Seafrigo Group will provide from this fifth warehouse, dedicated to e-fulfillment is the capacity to handle large throughput volumes of specialist food orders every week, with an extremely high level of accuracy.

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Lineage Logistics raises $1.7bn, total fundraising $6bn in 2 yrs

 Lineage Logistics, LLC (Lineage), a provider of temperature-controlled industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) and logistics solutions provider, raised $1.7 billion in equity from new and existing partners.

"Participating investors include BentallGreenOak, CenterSquare Investment Management, Cohen & Steers, D1 Capital Partners, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), NYSTRS, OP Trust, Oxford Properties, QuadReal Property Group, Rabobank, StepStone, and others," according to an official statement from Lineage.

The new capital will strengthen Lineage's balance sheet and will fuel investments in industry-leading technology including automation and proprietary software tools that help to improve supply chain efficiencies. It will also be used to fund Lineage's growth through greenfield developments, facility expansions, and investments in clean energy initiatives.

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Supply chain snags, Omicron continue to bog down air cargo growth in December

The current global supply chain crisis has continued to affect the air cargo demand in December, even as air freight rates have continued to surge. The December demand in the general air cargo market put a final dampener on 2021 peak season volumes as continuing supply chain issues, congestion on the ground, and concerns over the new Omicron virus suppressed any end-of-year uptick, according to industry analysts, CLIVE Data Services.

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