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Lack of container use makes it hard for air cargo to rival sea freight

THE lack of containerisation continues to hamper the air freight sector, making it harder to compete with ocean freight, according to speakers at the recent Air Cargo India conference in Mumbai.

"The sea mode is becoming more efficient and quicker," said FIATA's vice president Keshav Tanna. "There are weekly schedules and it's exceedingly difficult to market just air freight."

Indian Freight Forwarders' Association(FFFAI) chairman Samir Shahagreed that the container was a key advantage for sea freight, reported London's Loadstar.

"I can't take an air container to the factory for stuffing. The air industry hasn't worked it out with customs. It's not just the data transfer, it's the physical process itself.

"In air, the transport, handling and airline all need to transfer the shipment correctly. The ease of handling sea cargo cannot be matched."

Others argued that the price discrepancy between sea and air would always be the main factor.

"Quality is very important, and transit times, but at the end of the day it comes down to price, said Fast Logistics Solutions Group CEO Peter Scholten.

With US$100 the going rate for a 20-ton shipment from India to Europe by sea, "there's no way you can say air is the preferred mode," said Mr Shah.

Jeena & Co partner Sam Katgara, a forwarder, called on airports to introduce benchmarking for services such as handling and customs efficiency, which would have the added benefit of revealing the location of individual bottlenecks.