Hot competition for cargo business
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MOST shippers employ a freight forwarder to handle theii business for them at an airport, and it is estimated that there could be as many as 1000 forwarders in the United Kingdom.
Some freight does go directly to airports from shippers — in the case of Heathrow this amounts to 20 per cent.
Some of the bigger forwarders, often called freight or cargo agents, publish timetables showing the availability of services drawn from a number of different airlines. Prices may depend upon how important a guaranteed connection is to the customer. A wait of a day or so could mean a guaranteed reduction in the rate charged.
All freight rates are expressed at a price for a weight unit and the basic types of rates are known as Specific Commodity Rates or General Cargo Rates. However, in addition, special Unitised Load Device Rates, Container Rates and Classified' Rates are published. Both General Cargo Rates and Specific Commodity Rates are subject to quantity discounts.
The forwarder is also expected to advise on insurance, carriage of hazardous goods, export and import documentation including licences, commeicial invoices, restricted articles as well as work out routeings, transport, charges and all Customs clearances.
Cargo may be delivered directly to the airline depot at the airport, or a cargo agent may be used to make all necessary arrangements. British Airways. for example, has appointed 120 agents with over 700 offices in the UK to assist consignors in arranging shipment.
For exporters, agents will provide localised collection services and will also prepare all the documents necessary for despatch.
British Airways also recommend the use of an approved agent in clearing imported shipments. It greatly assists in the clearance of Customs and it also means that when cleared a consignment can be delivered to the consignee direct.
Heathrow's Cargo Terminal was completed in 1969 and provides over a million square feet of warehousing and over 250,000sqft of offices Seventeen major airlines hay their own warehouses an between them handle for OVE 50 other airlines, each (3 whom carries cargo in and or, of the airport.
A separate complex is prc vided for freight forwarder with office and warehous units, and a further offic, building houses HM Custom: Thirty aircraft stands are avai able alongside the airlin sheds and a network of road links the whole complex.
Other facilities include CE parks, staff restaurants, ban and Post Office. But perhap best known is LACES, th London Airport Electronic Dat Processing Scheme which er ables rapid clearance of freigl' by use of two large an powerful ICL System 4/7 computers.
LACES provides an int( grated system for the inventoi control of packages and th clearance of goods irnporte through the airport. It is pri vided by the National Dai Processing Service (NDPf. under contract to Custom airlines and agents. The cor puters are housed at Ha mondsworth but airlines ar agents at Heathrow are link€ by Visual Display Units (VDL The VDU has a televisic screen and a keyboard sirnil to that of a typewriter.
A record of all import co signments is made from ti airway bills and when th goods arrive the details a input to the computer whii compares the two sets of i formation. The computer c( culates the value for duty of tl item and the duty due.
An interrogation facili enables users to discover ti stage a consignment h reached in the system. Tlfacility is subject to contrr which ensure the security confidential information.
The computer then sele( the cargo for one of five typ (channels) of treatrne ranging from automatic clE rance to full documenta scrutiny and examination goods.
The cargo business is very ;ompetitive but is also very ipecialised and involves a lumber of organisations worlumber of organisations workig very closely together to ervice. Because of the degree )f specialisation involved and )ecause the value of goods is high the responsibility for he cargo at Heathrow is fairly veil defined.
At Heathrow, British kirports is not involved in iandling, receipt or storage of :argo. The British Airports' ole is the provision of the total Ifrastructure.
Loading, unloading and .arriage to and from the airTaft is the sole responsibility if the airlines and all cargo nust pass through the airline varehouses (transit sheds) in irder to be cleared by HM :ustoms.
The two exceptions to this iattern of of operation are (a) oods in transit (tranship-lents) to another destination ihich can, with HM Customs pproval, be transformed in ond to a special bonded tranhipment warehouse for cleaance and (b) containers holing numerous small packages ddressed to one individual gent (consolidations) which an, again with HM Customs pproval, be transferred to the gent's bond in the Cargo Ter
The link between the shiper and airlines is filled by the gent who acts as collector, acker, messenger and trouleshooter and is responsible )r ensuring that the cargo is elivered to and collected from )e right place at the right me. The real cost of moving freight by air is decreasing and the introduction of widebodied passenger aircraft with their large holds has produced a great deal of extra capacity on many routes. Added to this the success of the all-freight version of Boeing's 747 and its capacity for carrying full-sized containers has produced a healthy demand for containerised space.
Containers are secure, can be packed away from the airport, enable maximum use of space and can attract cheaper rates.
The only major limitation to the development of containerised services is the need to establish a reasonable use for the container in both directions and the present absence of a completely intermodal container. (A seagoing container has to be immensely strong and therefore very heavy, and at present there is no air container which is strong enough to be used for seep-sea work.)
While the LACES system is very good it does not allow agents based at locations away from the airport to use the clearance system. To overcome this problem a study group, chaired by HM Customs, is developing a computer-based clearance system for the period from 1980 onwards (called ACP80) which will enable access from premises off the airport. This will provide the opportunity for many more users to enjoy the benefits of obtaining up-todate information on imported goods.