Policy & Compliance
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manner. Addressing the serious issue of the transfer of invasive pests between different natural ecosystems is very much a part of that commitment. The CIG rigorously promotes the use of the Code of Practice for the Packing of Cargo Transport Units, published by the IMO, the ILO and the UNECE. The group published its Quick Guide – www.ttclub.com/news-and- resources/publications/ctu-code---a-quick-guide/ to the CTU Code – as a means of increasing awareness of the framework of good practice in relation to all aspects of cargo packing, including addressing phytosanitary concerns and reflecting the code’s chapter 8 and annex 6. The TT Club is calling for urgent action from actors in global supply chains to reduce the risk of pest transference facilitated through international cargo movements. At the same time, we encourage all stakeholders to understand the international debate around invasive pests and be prepared to work with industry counterparts and governments to ensure trade continues uninterrupted. Some tips Almost anything concerning the intermodal supply chain comprises complexity; without seeking to over-simplify or claim to be exhaustive, here are some tips: Container operators should ensure that any storage of units is on hard, well-drained surfaces away from vegetation. Releasing units for packing should also involve ensuring that they are checked for pest contamination, including considering the base structure, where possible. Such things will often require you to also consider contractual obligations with depots. Shippers, including beneficial cargo owners, should take responsibility for considering the impact of their procurement and fulfilment actions, specifically here relating to pest contamination risks at the point of packing. Packers should be alert to all aspects of pest contamination risks throughout the process of packing containers, taking account of the immediate environment, the time of year and use of artificial lighting, for example. Intermodal carriers, particularly by road, should consider the routing of vehicles to minimise the contamination risks, for example from debris thrown up from un-made surfaces. Receivers should ensure after unpacking that the container is clean and pest free. Anyone who spots pest infestations of any description on, or in, intermodal freight containers or their cargoes should alert National Plant Protection or (if contamination is of animal origin) animal quarantine agencies.
The air cargo industry should be proud of itself, says TIACA
By unconventionally and intelligently working together, airlines, airports and ground handlers, often supported by regulators, helped to ensure that supply chains did not collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, vaccine doses, medical items and PPE could be flown to many regions, despite tight transportation capacity due to the lack of lower deck options caused by the sudden and extended grounding of passenger traffic. During the TIACA-initiated ‘TakeOff Cargo’ event with Routes in July 2021, TIACA director general Glyn Hughes highlighted and acknowledged the outstanding role played by the air cargo industry during the pandemic in keeping flows running. Crisis was yesterday The air freight industry is not ‘taking off’ – it has been in full swing for about half a year, ensuring the global supply of vital goods such as vaccines, medicines, pharmaceuticals and other much-needed commodities, Glyn Hughes noted in his introductory remarks in reference to the title of the event. Regarding the current state of the industry, “we are already there where we had been before the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, despite the ongoing lack of belly capacity”, the TIACA official emphasised. He then presented a graph illustrating that the upward cargo ton kilometres (CTK) trend had reached pre-COVID- 19 levels in January 2021, and has continued to rise steadily since. A remarkable and unprecedented U-turn in the recent history of the industry. COVID-19 fostered agility He applauded the paramount role that carriers, forwarders and ground handlers played in keeping supply chains running during the pandemic, and the astonishing solutions the actors came up with to tackle the many unprecedented COVID-19 challenges, leading to innovative transport solutions practically overnight. For instance: reactivating and utilising grounded passenger aircraft, stripping them of their seats and turning them into “preighters” in order to accommodate parcels and packages filled with urgently needed face masks and other PPE items, in their passenger
cabins. This was a very welcomed contribution, greatly reducing the danger of COVID-19 infection. Other outstanding achievements the industry can be proud of were creative ground handling, distribution and storage solutions developed practically from scratch to maintain the product integrity of COVID-19 vaccines. A demanding task because some of them, such as BioNTech/Pfizer, require temperatures of -80°C all the way from production to delivery, Hughes pointed out. Much praise – for good reason The above-mentioned examples, which are only a few out of many presented by the TIACA official, illustrate the great importance of air freight in supplying people – not just during a pandemic. The industry also deserves praise for transporting and continuing to transport incredible masses of much sought-after e-commerce products after demand went through the roof during the lockdowns, Hughes noted. He assumed that this consumer behavior will probably remain in place for years, because purchasing habits have increasingly changed from brick-and-mortar retailing to mail-order business. Collaboration has become a do-or-die issue For the near future, the TIACA official painted a very positive picture as far as the demand for freight traffic is concerned. All economic data shows upward trends. The passenger business is picking up again and digitalisation made a big leap forward in the pandemic. However, the persistent mismatch between transport demand and capacity supply remains a problem for the industry. Globally, there is currently almost 12% less cargo capacity available compared with pre-COVID times, while demand has risen by 8.4% at the same time. Although Hughes did not touch on this point, it explains why the air freight industry has been able to generate such high profits in the recent past. Further, the TIACA official predicted that global connectivity will not return quickly. His advice to the various actors within the cargo industry is: “Intensify your cooperation, urgently.”
September 2021
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