• Chairman’s Corner
• SFO takes up screening challenge
• Pudong, China airport too small 2 years after opening
• American Airlines and Ireland
• Airline Security
• Boeing forecasts a bright future for new freighters
• Out of Africa or better In to Africa?
• Cargolux takes advantage of new opportunities in Africa
• Kitty Hawk Airline pays US$ 5 Million for Air Container Transport
• Shipper’s demand perfection
• A visit to the Port of Oakland
• Winner of the month
  

Labor Day is here, summer is coming to an end and most people around the world are back to work to tackle the remainder of 2006. Business has continued to be strong amidst new fuel surcharges and heightened security concerns around the world.

As we continue our expansion in the USA as well as overseas we have taken the steps of several internal promotions to go forward with our plans.

Since August 1st, Eric Poujol formerly with our EMO Houston office is now in place with Sebenza in Johannesburg as our Route Development Manager for South Africa.

From September 1st, Jennifer Frigger is the new Branch Manager of EMO Philadelphia. She will run the station together with Tony Young who has been promoted to Operations Manager.

As of October 1st, Gisela Beckermann our able editor of this newsletter and very successful Regional Manager West Coast North for the last 23 years has been promoted to Director of Sales Eastern and Northern Europe. Gisela will divide her time between her home in Austria and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Our new Regional Manager Northwest is Ralph Verlohr who comes from his position as Branch Manager EMO San Diego His successor is Shannon Manhnke, a Swiss National who joins us from DHL Danzas.

We wish all of them continued success in their new positions.

There is a certain level of confusion about the new TSA rulings and it appears that some airports are indeed taking the route of screening all cargo. It remains to be seen, what kind of congestion and delays for cargo shipping will be the result. The TSA also seems to take some progressive steps, by inviting Forwarders, carriers and shippers to form local advisory boards with the participation of TSA to discuss and implement security rules which will avoid cargo delays while ensuring the safety of all flights. We as EMO will continue to be at the forefront of these developments which includes screening of employees thru an independent organization.

While most if not all carriers continue to increase their surcharges there is still no solution for forwarders collection fees for those charges. The results and consequences of recent investigations by authorities here and abroad have not come to the forefront yet but it is, clear that forwarders around the world are increasingly critical about carrier’s refusal to let the forwarders who are collecting and often advancing these charges at least cover the expenses for those collections and the risk associated with it.

The rest of the year will see an increase in travel activities from some of our Managers to foreign countries as well as a number of visitors from overseas to the USA. Please help us to support these visits in case information and assistance is required.

All the Best
Jo Frigger
Chairman & CEO

San Francisco International Airport could be the thin end of the wedge introducing mandatory cargo screening, or it could find itself bypassed by forwarders wary of delays.

The airport is getting ready to screen all cargo moving into the bellyholds of its biggest passenger operators for explosives. In a US$30 million trial project, screening technology will be used to test 100% of air cargo traffic under the auspices of the Transportation Safety Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and several research institutions.

SFO is taking the lead in the broader DHS initiative to examine existing screening technology for cargo at airports. The tests at SFO are slated to run for 18 months starting in October. Industry insiders and executives, including the Freight Forwarders Association and US airlines, have already maintained that 100% inspection with the existing technology would not be feasible, as it was bound to cause severe disruption to the flow of goods. (From an article in Air Cargo News)

Hong Kong Airport Authority is in talks with owners of Pudong International Airport about buying into the big cargo handling complex building at the Shanghai gateway, the South China Morning Post said. SCMP noted that Pudong is looking for investment from airlines and airports. A Hong Kong Airport Authority was quoted by SCMP saying:
“We have not really decided on the percentage, price, or anything. “One percent is not meaningful though we are not asking for 51 percent either.”

As reported, Cargo Phase II at Pudong will deliver capabilities of handling 4.5 million tons annually by 2015. Although Pudong opened less than two years ago, the airport currently is running at air cargo capacity.

American Airlines Cargo announced daily widebody service to Shannon, Ireland from Chicago beginning October 28, replacing the current 757 service operating from Boston. The new 767-300 service will be operated in conjunction of our Chicago-Dublin flight, and will offer up to 15 LD8 equivalent positions on a daily basis. Changing the origin of the flight to Chicago will expand the network opportunities of AA Ireland service.

Hundreds of airline passengers remained stranded at British airports Aug. 11, while thousands of other travelers around the world experienced delays as a result of new security measures at airports in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere in response to what British authorities say was a plot to detonate explosives aboard airliners in flight.

Carry-on baggage has been prohibited in the United Kingdom, while carry-ons are permitted in the United States though they cannot contain liquids such as beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, toothpaste and hair gel. Authorities in India, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and New Zealand also banned passengers traveling to the United States and the United Kingdom from carrying liquids. Learning of this new regulation at airport check-in counters many passengers simply relocated the banned items to their checked baggage -- and wondered how this could possibly prevent a bomb from being brought on board.

In fact, the measure is designed to frustrate what counterterrorism officials believe was the plotters' intended method of smuggling components of their improvised explosive devices (IED) aboard the aircraft. In a possible scenario the attackers would have worked in two- or three-person teams, each one assigned with bringing an individual component of the device on board the aircraft. Once in flight, the device would then be assembled surreptitiously and then detonated. By keeping anything that might be an IED component out of the passenger cabin, security authorities believe they can disrupt this sort of operational plan.

The 1988 destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland is a case in point. In that attack the bomber never boarded a plane, but checked a suitcase containing the IED on a flight originating in Germany. The bag was then transferred to flight 103 during a stopover in London. Since then, precautions have been made to account for all passengers on flights before and after stopovers. Should a bomber stay on board with his or her baggage -- a suicide bomber, in other words -- an attack such as this would be extremely difficult to prevent.

After the Sept. 11 attacks measures were implemented to screen checked baggage destined for the cargo hold, though no system is foolproof, it still is possible to get an IED into the hold of a commercial jet.

Jo Frigger, CEO of EMO Trans noted during a recent interview:
"No immediate impact, other than delayed export and import cargo. Our internal security screens customers and vendors quite effectively. Long term concern is that politicians will use this incident to demand tighter cargo screening to the point of paralyzing flow of traffic.Air travel is not going to be much fun during the near future," Mr. Frigger added.
"We can all be grateful, that Scotland Yard foiled the plot in time. Frightening that one of the bad guys was an employee at LHR airport with high security clearance”

Security will continue to be tightened all over the world for passengers as well as cargo. I keep thinking about the old airline saying “If you got time to spare, go by Air”

Boeing has forecasted a US$2.6 trillion market for new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years in its 2006 Current Market Outlook published last week.

Demand for some 27200 commercial aircraft (passenger and freighter) will double the world fleet by 2025, predicts the aircraft manufacturer. And aircraft with improved environmental performance will form an important part of a 6,1% annual increase in air cargo traffic.

Converted freighters will satisfy three quarters of cargo demand - with 2,220 passenger aircraft predicted to be converted for freight use. Of these, Boeing predicts 1,210 will replace older freighters removed from fleets, and 1,010 will add additional capacity. Some 770 new freighters, such as the B777LRF and the B747-8F will be acquired by carriers.

At Emo Trans we are always trying to stay “ahead of the game” so we are going “In to Africa”. From our Houston Office we are sending Eric Poujol to be stationed at our partner’s office in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are confident that this new Route Development Manager will energize the sales efforts between the African and North American continent. We wish Eric much of success in his new position.

Transatlantic trade is more competitive than it has ever been. Far East air cargo routes are totally unbalanced and fuel prices are pushing customers to cheaper modes of transport. Cargolux’s vice president Europe, Middle East and Africa, Pierre Wesner, thinks Africa and the Middle East are markets that can tick all these boxes – and the airline plans to take full advantage.

“We see huge potential for the African market over the next two years and we are looking to multiply our frequencies. We are looking at three markets in particular – Western/Southern Africa, East Africa and the Middle East” he says.

“Nigeria, Chad and Congo are good import markets with excellent yields. This is fuelled by importation of equipment supporting the oil and gas industries. Our good links with major US oil and gas centers such as Houston has allowed for the lucrative flow of trade supporting the industry”. The return flights from Africa are easy to fill through the Perishable and Flower trade.

In Dubai, Cargolux plans to take full advantage of the new Dubai World Center on completion. The new airport planned for Dubai is a fantastic development. Dubai has space that will attract many people and traffic is likely to multiply. With six runways and fantastic infrastructure, the new facility offers enormous opportunities. The new airport complex should be open by the end of 2007.

The deal includes the purchase of all contracts relating to Air Container’s customer base, trucks and trailers, leased operating facilities, various other facility and equipment leases and its of owner operators. The cargo transport company will be operated by Kitty Hawk Ground Inc, a newly created subsidiary.

For the ones who are wondering from where this airline took their name:

When Orville Wright stepped ashore in Kitty Hawk Village in the fall of 1900, he probably already knew that he and his brother were destined to make history as discoverers of flight. After all, they had chosen this remote fishing village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina partly for privacy from prying eyes. Three years later they would indeed break the bonds of earth for the first time in their heavier than air flying machine. From that moment forward, Kitty Hawk would forever be associated with the Wright Brothers as the birthplace of aviation -although the actual flight took place four miles south from the base of Kill Devil Hill.

Pray hard that you never have a customer like Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical, demanding editor-in-chief of the New York fashion bible Runway Magazine. Priestly is portrayed by Meryl Streep in the hit movie “The Devil Wears Prada” ©. She tolerates nothing less than perfection in her relentless drive to remain the most powerful priestess in the fiercely competitive world of haute couture, and she has zero patience.

When Priestly wants to preview a designer’s newest line she expects samples on her desk now! If the fashion house is in Europe the designer must hotshot the line across the Atlantic for same-day delivery. No excuses. Just do it.

I recently went to see the movie and enjoyed it very much. In fact it is hilarious and I saw some resemblance to what expectations our clients and partners have of us at times and how we must find ways solve most difficult tasks and requirements, all of course at reasonable prices. But that is also part of the FUN in our business. To find solutions for our clients that help them in their daily business and coming up with ideas that they might have never thought of is part of our job at EMO Trans. We see ourselves as problem solvers. Give us a try with your shipments, we enjoy getting more clients.

It was no ordinary evening when I arrived at the port of Oakland for a private tour. After we watched several ships being loaded at the same time, I was taken up the largest crane and had the opportunity to sit in the seat of the Crane Operator.

Here I was, 175 feet (about 60 meters) above the port on the crane moving it forward, sideways, lifting and lowering the spreader bar. Looking down through the metal grid below my feet onto the water my heart was pounding and I could not stop thinking about the fact that a crane operator better not be afraid of heights.

Looking over to the cranes above the container ships on the right of me I was amazed with how much speed the operators lifted the containers off the bomb carts and onto the ship, positioning them onto the securing cones that locks the containers together on the deck of the ship. The slamming and banging noise every time when a container snapped into position made me think of how important it is to remind our clients to carry Marine Insurance for their freight.

It was a very exciting visit and I am very thankful to my client and friend who made this possible for me. Here are some pictures of my “adventure” on a beautiful evening at the Oakland port.

The “World Cup Soccer Ball” that I purchased in Germany during my last trip was won by C. Forte. Congratulations!

Our next prize will be a “Fuel Gift Certificate”. We all know how expensive it has become to fill up that gas tank, so please let us handle many of your shipments. As you know they will all be entered into the monthly drawing.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter and have a friend or a coworker who you believe might benefit from it, please forward it on. We encourage your ideas and suggestions. EMO Trans respects your privacy. We do not share your information with anybody and will only use this data to send you information via this newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.

Gisela M. Beckermann
Regional Manager
Northern California , Northern
Nevada and Pacific Northwest

Tel: (650) 697-0646
www.emotrans.com

Newsletter services provided by IMP