Because of the protest obstructing the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, automakers and major suppliers have called in hotshot air cargo services to airlift crucial parts to facilities on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Manufacturers often use cross-border air freight carriers for emergency shipments, but activity has increased in recent days as protesters have continued to obstruct the largest commercial crossing in North America. The Ambassador Bridge closure has added hours of driving time for trucks, who are stuck in traffic at alternate border crossings.
Because of part shortages, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and Toyota have shut down or reduced output at a number of plants.
According to Albert Harris, senior vice president of air charter operations for Ascent, a third-party logistics provider, some automakers and component suppliers are employing an air bridge to bypass border closures and support operations in both nations.
“Ascent and our charter airline, USA Jet Airlines, are assisting with the management of the emergency supply chain for a number of customers.” “We’re deploying our fleet of Boeing [727 aircraft], MD-80s, DC-9s, and Falcon 20s to support our customers in maintaining production and supply continuity,” he said.
According to its website, USA Jet, based in Belleville, Michigan, has automotive clients such as Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), General Motors (NYSE: GM), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA).
Because of truck-led protests at various border crossings and Canadian cities this month, Ascent’s volume between the United States and Canada has tripled. According to him, less than 10% of Ascent’s routine operation involves Canada because cross-border infrastructure is typically quite efficient.
According to management at Odyssey Aviation, one of two businesses that operate the airport and offer aeronautical services, air freight movements at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan, have grown considerably in recent days.
“Right now, we’re loading and unloading four planes at the same time.” That is not typical. When called late Friday night, he said, “We’re seeing some flights that are here and returning every three hours.”
According to the flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, Montreal-based Chrono Aviation has been operating frequent shuttle flights with a Boeing 737-200 between London International Airport in Ontario and Willow Run over the last few days.
Lynden Air Cargo from Alaska, Ameristar, Berry Aviation with an Embraer 120, and Kalitta Charters with a Learjet was among the other air charters that arrived at Willow Run on Friday.
Expedited carriers fly everything from single-engine piston planes to Boeing 747-400s. They often run brokerage operations, allowing them to access outside aircraft that they may not have on hand to meet a specific timing or load demand.
As a result of requests from automakers and suppliers, Ascent is boosting its typical capacity with larger planes from outside providers, according to Harris. The largest aircraft in USA Jet’s fleet has a maximum payload of roughly 50,000 pounds, while Ascent is looking for aircraft with a payload capacity of up to 250,000 pounds.
Customs officers on both sides of the border are assisting truckers by temporarily enabling shippers on both sides of the border to transfer cargo to other ports of entry without having to redo their paperwork.
Dan Hearsch, managing director at AlixPartners and a supply chain expert, said he has heard of another workaround in which some suppliers take pallets off large trucks and load them onto accelerated vans that can pass through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
On Saturday, police in Windsor, Ontario, began operations to remove activists who had been blocking business traffic on the Ambassador Bridge.
911 air charter
The accelerated air carriers are the supply chain fire department for automakers and Tier 1 suppliers, providing stopgap transportation on a frequent basis to avoid downtime and major financial loss.
“If you don’t get your product on their dock in time and their assembly plant shuts down, you, the supplier, could face chargebacks of up to $2,000 to $4,000 per minute for each minute of downtime because your product is missing from the process,” Andrew Downs, who ran an air taxi charter company before selling it last year, said in an interview two years ago at an air cargo conference.
Air charter businesses that provide rapid service may frequently get a jet in the air within an hour.
“We bring just enough stuff until the conventional forms of transportation — trucking, less-than-truckload, hot-shot trucking, and occasionally rail – can catch up,” Downs explained.
He mentioned a situation in which his company had to fly a roll of stickers from Montreal to El Paso, Texas, on a Learjet because the axles going across the border from Mexico didn’t have the proper stamps to clear customs and were held until the new stickers arrived and could be put to them.
Truck intercepts are also performed by on-demand air transport businesses. When there is a big weather incident, traffic jam, or break down, motor carriers will divert a truck or load to the nearest airport, and the carrier will fly in and take enough parts to keep the manufacturing line running.
When an aircraft develops a mechanical problem, airlines also rely on on-demand charter companies to fly in parts and mechanics on short notice. Charter flights are costly, but they are well worth it because an aircraft that is not flying is not generating revenue and might cause network delays when airport connections are missed.
“We’re the service that no one wants to use but has to utilize on sometimes,” Downs explained.
