newstodate.aero
Sep 10, 2009 (newstodate): World market demands for Norwegian fresh salmon are quite stable and increasing, but there is little freighter uplift capacity out of the country's airports.
Norway produces 6-700,000 tonnes of fresh salmon for exports each year, and 10 percent of these volumes go by air to markets in Asia, Middle East and North America.
With little uplift capacity out of Norway, the export shipments are instead trucked from production sites to continental airports, entailing a penalty on shelf time.
-The problem with freighters out of Norway is of course that the traffic is imbalanced, which would require a cargo rate that cannot compete with today's situation in the market dominated by over-capacity and consequently very low rates, says Lasse Wangen, DHL Danzas Quality Cargo, the country's largest specialized salmon logistics provider handling about 40 percent of the salmon air exports market.
-Instead we have to rely on the road feeder services that also perform quite well. We have many calls from airlines that inquire about prospects for a freighter solution out of Norway but I still find the market too unstable to warrant the set-up of such services. The are many uncertainties concerning future fuel prices, selling prices of salmon in the key markets and details in the coming airline winter schedules.
-Also airlines are now announcing decisions on rates increases as airline they cannot in the long run continue the sustained subventions of unprofitable cargo operations. All these issues will have a direct bearing on the future development of salmon air cargo exports solutions, says Mr Wangen.
Norway produces 6-700,000 tonnes of fresh salmon for exports each year, and 10 percent of these volumes go by air to markets in Asia, Middle East and North America.
With little uplift capacity out of Norway, the export shipments are instead trucked from production sites to continental airports, entailing a penalty on shelf time.
-The problem with freighters out of Norway is of course that the traffic is imbalanced, which would require a cargo rate that cannot compete with today's situation in the market dominated by over-capacity and consequently very low rates, says Lasse Wangen, DHL Danzas Quality Cargo, the country's largest specialized salmon logistics provider handling about 40 percent of the salmon air exports market.
-Instead we have to rely on the road feeder services that also perform quite well. We have many calls from airlines that inquire about prospects for a freighter solution out of Norway but I still find the market too unstable to warrant the set-up of such services. The are many uncertainties concerning future fuel prices, selling prices of salmon in the key markets and details in the coming airline winter schedules.
-Also airlines are now announcing decisions on rates increases as airline they cannot in the long run continue the sustained subventions of unprofitable cargo operations. All these issues will have a direct bearing on the future development of salmon air cargo exports solutions, says Mr Wangen.