In the last year, Alabama’s Huntsville International Airport has attracted additional air cargo services managed by major global logistics organizations, reinforcing its status as a prominent cargo center among lesser-known airports with little passenger traffic.
Kerry Logistics is so satisfied with the airport’s speed in processing shipments from Hong Kong for distribution in the eastern half of the United States that it has expanded charter flights to four per week since opening an airside terminal and beginning service there last August. Meanwhile, Latin American demand for Tennessee Valley exports and transshipment cargo from Asia has increased to the point where DSV is hiring an entire cargo plane each week for a direct flight to save time trucking products to Miami.
Without physically operating planes, the logistics firms essentially serve as private-label airlines. They can manage the client experience by renting a full cargo jet for a period of time, rather than being at the mercy of airline timetables and space limits. Many firms are willing to pay extra to assure access to reliable capacity and faster delivery after two years of continual supply chain disruptions and crowded ships.
Based in Hong Kong Kerry Logistics chose Huntsville (HSV) as its U.S. airfreight gateway due to its convenient location — the majority of the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest are within a one-day truck drive — and quick cargo transfers. According to Kevin Bulger, COO for Kerry Apex’s U.S. freight forwarding division, the company, which is publicly traded but controlled by Chinese parcel delivery giant S.F. Express, plans to enter into long-term leases with carriers to expand its controlled freighter network to Hanoi, Vietnam, next month with three weekly flights to Huntsville, followed by an equal number of dedicated flights from mainland China.
In terms of international air freight volume, Huntsville is ranked 18th in the United States. It features two lengthy runways for heavy planes and a 2.3 million square feet of air cargo ramp area for freighters.
The advantage of Huntsville is “speed to market.” We manage the freight in our own warehouse without any problems. “It has been demonstrated that this gateway can compete with others,” Bulger added.
Western Global Airlines of Estero, Florida, runs the flights on behalf of Kerry Logistics with tri-engine MD-11 cargo planes, but the new routes may also be handled by Western’s Boeing 747-400 cargo planes or other suppliers, according to Bulger.
The current program largely facilitates the delivery of electronics from Asia to the United States.
Although demand for airfreight out of Asia has slowed in recent months, continued ocean shipping delays and restricted air transport choices are driving more shippers to logistics firms that can guarantee space, according to Bulger.
“It provides individuals with more options within a restricted network.” “Stability is the key,” he explained.
Huntsville is an appealing air cargo hub due to a number of characteristics, including its location.
Huntsville, like other cargo-focused secondary airports, does not have a large number of passenger planes vying for air traffic control, runway access, ground services, and US Customs officers. Shipments pass through customs clearance quickly at the facility. Logistics firms with their own flow centers and planes also do not need to wait for third-party handlers to process their shipments. Jetplex Industrial Park in Huntsville is a designated foreign trade zone. Major interstate highways and the Port of Huntsville’s intermodal rail terminal, which is serviced by Norfolk Southern railroad, are close by, facilitating freight connections for shippers across multiple states. Furthermore, the airport is located near several automobile firms in the Southeast, including Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, and BMW, which can be accessed by truck in a matter of hours.
The DSV Miami bypass
DSV, the world’s fifth-largest logistics services company by gross revenue and a top-five airfreight middleman, began offering service from HSV to Sao Paulo every Monday in late May. LATAM Airlines, South America’s largest airline group, and cargo carrier operate the Boeing 767 freighter for Hovedstaden, Denmark-based DSV.
The new LATAM Star service expands DSV’s burgeoning charter network by offering a full loop air transport connection between South America and DSV’s Asia destinations. DSV already flies four cargo flights from Miami to Sao Paulo’s Viracopos International Airport under contract with Atlas Air (NASDAQ: AAWW), but there is no backhaul to the United States under DSV’s control. After exchanging cargo in Sao Paulo, the LATAM freighter heads to Bogota, Colombia, to pick up flowers, seafood, and other commodities before delivering the complete load to Miami. Flowers are picked up by local wholesalers, and DSV organizes trucks to transport them back to Huntsville for all other products.
“We’re now bringing in direct airlift into Huntsville rather of trucking it down to Miami, thus cutting off at least a day’s transit time,” Mads Ravn, executive vice president of air and sea for the United States, said in an interview. Until recently, DSV had to truck all of its customers’ products to Miami in order to take advantage of the commercial capacity of various carriers serving Brazil.
According to Ravn, agricultural, automotive, technology, and chemical products are among the US exports in great demand in Latin America. According to the Alabama Department of Commerce, Brazil is one of the top ten export destinations for Alabama products.
Increased amounts of high-tech components from Asia traveling through Huntsville on DSV-regulated aircraft and proceeding to factories in Brazil are also part of the new South American initiative. Atlas Air flies Boeing 747 freighters from Hong Kong to Huntsville twice a week. One flight stops in Seoul, South Korea. Another nonstop flight departs from Hong Kong. Both flights proceed to Miami. Atlas offers a third DSV service between Hanoi and Huntsville, Alabama, and Miami, Florida. Some supplies are unloaded and distributed in Alabama and Georgia, while the remainder is transshipped to Brazil by LATAM or Atlas Air via Miami.
DSV leases 130,000 square feet of warehouse space on the HSV tarmac, including temperature-controlled storage for pharmaceuticals and perishable commodities.
“We’re also attempting to cease transporting everything by truck into Miami, as trucking has gotten increasingly expensive due to rising gas prices and a shortage of drivers.” Trucking has become a very costly component. “By stopping in Huntsville, we’re taking advantage of the fact that we can fill a plane rather than wasting another day and thousands of dollars hauling it to Miami,” Ravn explained.
Ravn stated that the freight forwarder hopes to increase the amount of South American voyages in the future.
Bulger stated that Kerry Logistics’ goods to Latin America are currently trucked to Miami for transfer to other commercial carriers, but that the new DSV service could pave the way for a future relationship with LATAM.
When Panalpina, which was acquired by DSV in 2019, established its Dixie Jet airfreight service between northern Alabama city and Luxembourg in 1990, HSV was one of the first second-tier airports in the United States to attract a direct all-cargo airline. DSV presently provides the service three times each week with the assistance of Cargolux, which operates Boeing 747 freight planes. LATAM used to operate a route between Huntsville and Bogota, but it was stopped after DSV acquired Panalpina.
LATAM is expanding its 767 cargo fleet in order to take advantage of more commercial prospects like the one given by DSV. The cargo division currently flies 13 767 cargo planes and is repairing numerous older passenger aircraft to be turned into freighters. With the purchase of a production freighter from Boeing this fall, the company might have up to 22 medium widebody freighters in its fleet by the end of next year.
