Editor’s Note: New Year’s resolutions

January marked the entry into 2022, but this month welcomed in the year of the Tiger, and in terms of airfreight demand it appears to be much like the outgoing year of the Ox.

The weeks leading into the Lunar New Year holidays are historically a busy time for transportation, with an influx of orders for factories in China and accompanying export demand to keep overseas shelves stocked during holiday factory closures. As with most trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Lunar New Year season has shaped up a bit differently.

In this month’s feature from Associate Editor Kelly Stroh, “New year, similar challenges: Changing restrictions and the return of PPE on the trans-Pacific lane,” freight forwarders detail some of the surprises served up by this year’s Lunar New Year. While disruption continues and freight forwarder and airlines adjust, successful operators are applying the hard-won lessons of the past two years and resolving to conquer the challenges 2022 offers.

As frustrating as the challenges have been for air cargo operators, the shippers with cargo languishing in warehouses or awaiting unloading off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., have their own concerns with the airfreight industry. In the lead feature for February, “Airfreight upgrade: Making air logistics more valuable for shippers,” we examine the shipper perspective on the value of airfreight today and in the future. With constructive criticism in mind for the year ahead, 3PLs and airlines can resolve to better meet their customers’ needs and establish airfreight as a valuable transportation option even in a normal market.

Technology is the next frontier for companies aiming to make their own airfreight upgrades this year, and Air Cargo World is pleased to present a new live event, the Air Cargo Tech Summit. The inaugural event will take place from June 6-7 at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami, with an agenda of panel discussions and presentations covering the most important technological improvements across air cargo logistics. For more information or to register, visit the event’s home page here.

We look forward to seeing you in Miami!

Caryn Livingston

Editor, Air Cargo World