Cargo To Africa

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  • Colossal Cargo Ship Benjamin Franklin to Operate in Pacific

    Benjamin Franklin is one massive container ship that will start carrying cargo from May

    This colossal container ship and five like it are going to carry cargo across Pacific Ocean but they would not be coming to Puget Sound Ports. These ships are planned to start their journey from May this year.French-owned CMA CGM Group has made an announcement on Thursday that the trans-Pacific deployment of their gigantic cargo ships is real close and each one of these will be able to carry 18,000 TEUs. Thanks to these mammoth ships, delivering sea cargo to Africa, China, UK, US and Canada along with other international destinations will be quiet cost effective.

    Most of the cargo will be coming from China and will be delivered to international markets especially the US. Early this week, the Benjamin Franklin made quiet some news locally as well as globally when it reached the Terminal 18 at Seattle. It attracted plenty of notables and they all have shown their willingness to bring more and more ships like this one to their waters. That is a good news but they will have to wait as CMA CGM Group’s pearl River Express Service is going to use all these cargo ships on the route between West Coast of the United States and China, and unfortunately, Seattle does not come on this route.

    These ships are moved as constant stream in a circle, in China they will be calling at five ports before they arrive at the Port of Long Beach where they will unload import cargo. From there onwards, the ships will move up the coast to the Port of Oakland where they will load export cargo and finally head back to China where they will unload this cargo.

    The Benjamin Franklin ran a similar route early this week up the West Coast from Long Beach to Oakland, from where it went to Terminal 18 in Seattle. ED McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer, said Monday that they will be bringing the ship to service between China and Europe. He further added that “it will go back into Europe-Asia trade, that’s what the vessel normally does. The other five are in the Europe-Asia trade today. This will join in the Europe-Asia trade.”

  • How to Manage Cargo and Courier Delivery

    International shipping of cargo or courier delivery is a complicated process so before plan a delivery you need to know the important information about the cargo or courier delivery.It is significant to know techniques about how to deliver worldwide?

    There are many methods for the transportation of the goods around the globe. Some of them are cheap and some are expensive but in spite of all the shipping methods the selection of the medium of transportation depends upon the customer.In the shipping industry air cargo is a reliable and quick source for the shipping of the goods around the world.

    In the same way the door to door delivery of the shipments has greater value in the logistics industry. International shipping is not a matter of stress for the freight forwarding companies. But it is a game of puzzle for the customers and there are many questions that disturbs the customer during the shipping internationally, especially for those customers who first time sends their products by air cargo.

    An important information is given below for those who are unaware about this process. These questions will help the sender before cargo delivery.

    What is Volume Weight?

    A less dense shipment occupies more volume of space, in comparison to its real weight. Generally dimensional weight is a space of a shipment occupied in the air carrier.

    The cost of the shipment can be affected by the amount of the space that the shipment occupied in the air carrier.

    How to Calculate the Volume weight?

    The volume, weight depends on the dimension of the shipment. The volume, weight formula for the air cargo is calculated by the multiplying of the length, width, height of the package and divided by 6000.

    The volume, weight calculating formula is different for the different method of shipping.

    What is chargeable Weight?

    In the air cargo the chargeable weight is calculated on the basis of the volume, weight or gross weight.

    In other words the chargeable weight is the Volumetric Weight of the shipment.

    What is prohibited cargo?

    All hazardous and illegal products are not allowed in the air cargo. Transportation of the hazardous items is a serious crime in the aviation industry.

    Prohibited cargo includes currency, bearer instrument, lithium batteries, semi-liquids and radio-active material.

    Customs Clearance process

    After the inspection of the customs department the shipment can leave or enter into the country.

    Essential shipping documents are required for the customs clearance of the shipment.

  • Ethiopian Airline!Vision 2025 for Fastest Growing African Airline

    Ethiopian airline has become the leading and fastest growing airline in Africa and Ethiopian airline’s vision 2025 will be prolific for the Ethiopian Aviation group.

    Ethiopian airline is the largest and most profitable airline in Africa. Ethiopian airline has 34 aircraft and serving for 82 passengers, 19 domestic and 23 freight destinations. Ethiopian airline flies to more destinations in Africa and one of the leading and fast growing airline groups in Africa. The lion’s logo airline has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, supreme in competency and operational success.

    There is an image of the lion on the nose of the every Ethiopian airline, which is the sign of respect and power.Ethiopian airlines fly to Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Middle East and Asia, and connecting many cities across the world.

    Ethiopian Airline’s vision 2025

    The Ethiopian airline is applying its 15-year strategic plan which is called Vision 2025. The basic goal of the Vision 2025 is becoming the top airline in Africa. This successful strategic plan of Ethiopian airline will make the airline the most profitable airline in the African region. Ethiopian is also the  Star Alliance member. Star alliance is the largest alliance between the global airlines.Ethiopian air cargo is the leading cargo airline in Africa.

    Ethiopian air cargo is handling 200,000 tons of cargo yearly and hovers to twenty-four destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.According to the vision 2025, Ethiopian air cargo strategic plans to increase the cargo handling capacity over 800,000 tons annually.

    Ethiopian airline 15-year strategic plan to increase the capacity of the hub to allow for 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually and make a cold storage for the perishable goods being exported.

    Africa’s modern aviation group

    Ethiopian airline has been a pioneer African technology leading carrier providing the first jet service in the African region in 1962, and availing the first African B767 in 1984 and the first African B777-200LR in 2010.Ethiopian airline is the largest and ultra-modern aviation group in Africa.

    The Ethiopian fleet contains modern and environmentally friendly airlines such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR. No doubt, Ethiopian is the first aviation group in Africa,which owns and run these modern airlines.

    Multi award winning airline in Africa

    Ethiopian airline is the multi-award winning aviation group of Africa. Ethiopian is airline registering an average growth of 25 percent in the past years. Ethiopian airline has won the CAPA award for excellence 2015. CAPA is the top aviation award.

    According to the CEO of Ethiopian airline, This award is an evidence of the success of Ethiopian airline and which will make Ethiopian the leading aviation group in Africa by 2025.

  • How to be Smart When Sending Cargo to Nigeria?

    During the cargo delivery, human mistakes – caused by the human actions – are the common factor. What are the common mistakes that Nigerians do in the shipping process? How these shipping errors can be minimized?

    Like other life projects of the world, the shipping industry of Nigeria is also difficult and risky. There are many risks and difficulties in the Nigerian import and export business.  Many mistakes arise from the human actions which makes the shipping so difficult. These mistakes usually arisefrom the use of outdated methods of shipping and the lack of sensible about the shipping business. What major mistakes they do with the import and export business? The two major mistakes of Nigerian shipping business are given below.

    Indecorous packing of the goods

    The outer cover of the body saves the internal organs from damage and harm. In the same way the unusual wrapping of the shipment is not proved a healthy protector of the interior items. The packing is the vital element in the process of the shipping. Good packing keeps your products safe from damages and environmental factors. The damaging of the goods during the process of shipping happen routine wise due to human and mechanical errors. The fragile items are found in the list of mostly damaged items in the shipping process.

    Environmental conditions also effect the goods during the shipping which is apart from human error.  But these risks can be minimized by the use of good quality packing for the shipments. The care of the cargo handling staff is also considerable. They play an important role in the careful delivery of the goods.  This damage can be decreased by the proper monitoring of the cargo before delivery.

    The packing must be high quality for the safe shipping. Ceramics, breakable plates, electronics and any other thing that is fragile in nature required good packing for the shipping.

     Why Customs Seizure Happens?

    The mostly happened Nigerian customsseizures can be stopped by the removal of the agents and the importers from the process of the shipping.  What are the causes of the customs seizure? What the shipping agent do with the delivery? The following will help you to understand the customs seizure. The shipping agents play a game during the clearance process by hiding the airwaybill of the cargo. They do not pay the customs duty of the cargo.

    They hide the airway bill so cunningly and if this is detected during delivery, it could lead to customs seizure. The reliance on the cargo agent must lead your cargo to the customs seizure. The importing and exporting of the illegal things and the nonpayment of the duty are the major causes of the Customs seizure.

  • Elbe River Stuck Container Ship Rescued

    The two previous attempts had failed to free the container ship which had run aground

    What happened?

    A container ship had run aground in the Elbe River near Hamburg almost a week ago. The authorities made two attempts previously which had been unfruitful and failed miserably. It is expected to continue its voyage after the rescue.

    Many container and cargo ships run aground every now-and-then while they sail to deliver sea cargo to Africa, United State, China, United Kingdom and other countries of the world.

    When the rescue efforts began?

    At 2 a.m. local time (o1:00 UTC/GMT), the rescue efforts began and after 20 minutes of extensive efforts the cargo ship CSCL Indian Ocean was freed up. This ship had run aground almost a week ago in the Elbe River about 22 miles northwest of Hamburg. During the rescue attempts the affected section of the Elbe River was closed off to traffic. This operation was facilitated by the south-westerly winds in the North Sea and high tides on a new moon, then there were 12 tugboats that finally released the container ship.

     

    The ship is towed back into the shipping channel and five tugboats pulled it safely to the Hamburg at about 5:30 a.m. local time.

    Is the ship healthy enough to continue its voyage?

    The accident had been caused by a defect in the steering system, said the rescue team from the “Havariekommando Cuxhaven”. They said after initial check-ups that the steering system was in working order again and they have not found any evidence of any lasting damage. The authorities said that it will take a week for further check-ups and after that the cargo ship may leave Hamburg to continue its voyage on due course.

    What are the details of the vessel?

    CSCL Indian Ocean is one of the largest cargo ships in the world which was put in operation last year. It is 400 meters long and 59 meters wide and has the ability to carry the maximum number of containers is 19,100 teu. If you don’t know what teu is then in terms of measurement it is twenty-foot equivalent unit. There are only a few cargo vessels in the world that exceed 19,000 teu.

  • Good Customer Service Can Boost Your Cargo Business

    Customer Service in the Cargo Industry is the key which differentiates you from your competitors.

    The customer service in the has air cargo business vital importance and plays a key role in the growth of the business.  The customer service plays a crucial role in the process of freight forwarding from one destination to the other. The shipper has many  questions about the delivery from the time of packing of the cargo to the time of delivery at the exact destination. The only difference between the good cargo service is the way they treat their customers.The shipper can get exact information about the shipping, rates, location of the delivery and about the destination at any time from the customer service centre of the air cargo company. The best customer service will give you the best stand in the world of air cargo. The superior customer service will provide you more clients and the inferior your service will thrust business in the dark.

    The importance of the customer service

    From all the fields of the cargo the air cargo is very much different. There are many different factors that confused the customers’ experience and every single thing is noticed by the customers from your cargo business. It is important to make good the customer service, working efficiencies and all the major steps in the process of shipping the to increase level of demand for the success of your business.

    Customer service is a standout amongst the most vital elements of the marketing items and managements. The reliability of the customers depends upon your high level of services that your company is offering. Today’s customers fascination is not only for the items they are being offered, but they  are also interested in all other components of the service that they get from the cargo company.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

    Operational skills can boost your cargo business

    The global modernization is the  factor that has affected the cargo business. Technology and the up-to-date system is the most salient demand of the today’s customers. The shipper demands high-quality cooperation from the cargo company during the process of the shipping. From start to tail in the shipping process the shipper faced many complexities and to meet these freight shipping difficulties the shipper demands modern tools and quick response from the freight forwarding company.

    During  the streamline process of your operations, you need to be thinking about in what way your esteem customer can get operational excellence and what kind of modern tools you need to fulfil the customers expectations.  That’s all that will help your cargo business  for the growth in the future.

  • How You can Make Your International Logistics Business Successful

    In this connected world work together and best management is the key practice to make the logistics business successful.

    In this modern period of time, it’s nothing unexpected that many companies are moving their supplies to low price logistics providers. Nonetheless, a number of companies are finding that higher than predicted transportation expenses finish out the exceeding advantages.

    According to a research by Aberdeen Group the worldwide deliveries, price twofold as much, take five times as long and have five times more changeability than national shipments. So the question is how can companies can overcome the difference gap by the use of global logistics? Here are a few useful tips about how companies can make their logistics business successful.

    An effective collaborating  team is the key to develop the logistics business

    The companies with successful performance realize and influence the capabilities of their collaborators to act as one resilient team.

    The use of information technology in the collaboration is the most positive part of the global logistics. Cooperation and team work is fruitful for the logistics business development. To make the logistics business more healthy and strong it is important to join hands with an effective team. Pick a partner that can figure out your vision and mission and give reverence  to your goals and needs.

    A strategic team management is a key to business growth

    A solid strategy is necessary for the development of the international logistics business. A strategic work and team management are the key practice to achieve the success in the world of logistics.

    Having a sensible and strategic system is a key best practice to accomplish the objective of logistics business growth. This helps you to drive continuous improvements in your business and gives you a direction for new initiatives. It is crucial to express your ideas  to your partners.

    Up-to-date system and the use of technology

    In this robotic world the use of technology is crucial for the growth of the any business. In this world of technology, any company does not attention on the technology is bound to be beaten by its opponents in the field of business.

    The use of technology is fruitful to drive your business necessities and it is the most common idea in among the companies of high performance. Mostly the developed logistics companies prefer the use of technology over the manual management system. The use of technical system in the logistics business has allowed the companies to be always one step ahead of their rivals in the same field.

  • Ethiopian Cargo Hits Below the Belt of Brussels Airport

    Brussels Airport continued to hurt from the departure of Ethiopian Cargo services from the airport

    In January only, the Belgian airport recorded a big decline in airfreight demand and all happens due to the withdrawal of Ethiopian cargo services from the airport. Till 2015, this airport was one of the real success stories but suddenly saw a decline of 2.4 percent by year on year in January to almost 37 thousand tons.

    Actual situation of Brussels airport

    It is not only Ethiopian cargo services caused that big dent to the airport but the full freighter demand also suffered and faced more than 11 percent decline on a year earlier to around 10 thousand tons, while integrator volumes were almost flat at 15,699 tons.

     

    Belly cargo on other hand, remained high by 3 percent to around 12 thousand tons.

    What Brussels airport believes?

    The airport said that the full freighter segment of its cargo department was still recovering from the departure of Ethiopian air cargo withdrawal after the carrier did not get the mandatory traffic rights to sustain its operations at the Brussels airport. The airline now nested to dutch hub Maastricht-Aachen airport.

    Brussels airport company chief executive, Arnaud Feist believes that growth is all more striking because the air cargo services in Europe looked unwelcoming in the past year.

    Overall situation in the region

    Overall, the Brussels was one of the fastest growing airports in the region and it recorded the demand increase of around 8 percent in 2014 to just under half million tons. On other hand, the busiest airport in the area, Frankfurt cargo facility recorded a decline of 2.3 percent on year-on-year in 2015.

    Brussels in that particular time remained vigorous with a full year cargo volume growth of 7.8 percent because of the arrival of new cargo carriers and express services at the Belgian airport. It is not only the cargo where Brussels has shown a growth but at the passenger side, it showed an increase of 7 percent and handled more than 23.4 million passengers, an increase of around 15 percent.

    Ethiopian cargo to left Brussels

    A spokesman to European cargo hub said that the Ethiopian cargo left the Brussels skies because they did get the air traffic rights to fly over the Belgian territories. In November this year, Brussels airport will no longer remain the home to Ethiopian airlines. The result is full freighter volume will decrease by 25 percent in the last two months compared to 2014.

  • What are the Major Differences Between Strategic and Transactional Shippers

    Two types of the shippers are working in the logistics industry that are the Strategic and Transactional shipper. The key difference between both the shippers is given in the following article.

     What is Strategic shippers?

    The strategic shippers are risk opposing and they worked with renowned logistic companies. They are cost sensitive and strategic shoppers pay less price for freight and to get better services.

    Strategic shippers  consider their logistics capacity as basic to their prosperity.

    What is Transactional shippers?

    They do not  work for any logistics company. The Transactional shippers are price driven and see logistics services as a trade product.  In transactional shipper case the decision on the purchase is based only on the value of the freight.

    What are the key differences between the both types of the shippers?

    A solid  relationship with logistics providers

    The Transactional shippers have less sense about  to create a solid relationship as the strategic shippers build. The relationship between the workers and surroundings is most fruitful for the business development.  The strategic shipper on the other hand can build a healthy relationship with  logistics services. However the transactional shipper are not the true image of relation development.

    Difference of  shipping cost

    The strategic shipper’s sole concentration is on the cost of the shipping. In some events they pay some amount for the shipping but they consider the total cost to decrease the logistics charges.On the other hand the transactional shippers do not examine the cost of the shipping because their sole decision of the purchase is based on the total price of the freight.

    The use of  technology

    Strategic shipper is connected with a logistics company so that they can use their software to store the information and records of the shipping.  They are advanced than the transactional shippers in the setting of technology.  The use of technology reduces the risks and errors in the process of shipping. However, the Transactional shippers do not use the technology. They cannot take the benefits of software provided by outdoor logistics services.

    The use of KPIs (Key Process Indicators)

    The use of KPIs is a key process in the system of shipping. The value of KPIs can describe the quality value of the logistics service. In the case of strategic shippers and transactional shippers the concept of key process indicators is very different. According to the  strategic shippers point of view without the use of key process indicators you cannot manage the process of shipping. They use the KPIs to decrease the cost and to develop the shipping service.  The transactional shippers are totally different from strategic shippers because they don’t use KPIs in their process of shipping.

  • How You Can Minimize Your Customer Anxiety in the Delivery Process

    The delivery services, whether they be dealers, parcel services and couriers are the major ways to decrease the customer’s anxiety about the delivery.

    The major point of frustration among the customers and the delivery service is the phone call dealing between them.  Customer’s anxiety in the process of delivery can be minimized by following ways.

    Business website must be informative

    It is very crucial for the online business company that the website of the company has all the information about the products that your company sell. The website of your company must have all the details about your product delivery.

    Best practices for your website is dependent on your business. The  websites of online businesses  should be descriptive of products sold, including images.

    The online order of the products

    The major cause of customer  anxiety is the inability in the online orders of the goods. This inability may be  caused by your own business website or by a third person. The addition of ordering and delivery  section of the goods on the website is the easy method to solve the problem of customer’s worry.  The online ordering section on your business website is the key for your business development.

    It also helps the customer to buy the products easily at the same platform.

     Online Tracking of the order and delivery

    Another key method of decreasing the concern of the customer in the delivery of the cargo is the online tracking of cargo and the delivery after the order of the product. It is a very important point to reduce the anxiety of the customer because after the order of the product the customer wants to know the exact detail about his purchased product delivery.

    So it is important for the business to add the online tracking section to their business websites for the help of the customers.

     Communication Link  Between Customer and Driver

    A communication link between the driver and the customer is also a way of removing the customer’s irritation in the process of cargo delivery. Sometimes the customer wants necessary to communicate with the driver to inform him about the delivery of his product. Instead of calling the business and having them pass on the message to the driver, causing quite a little anxiety. Better to allow direct communication link between the driver and the client.

    The system of direct communication between the driver and the client is the best method of decreasing the anxiety of the customer and to save the time of the driver.