april2023 - 18

Cover Story
" Since air cargo capacity was tight, it was more difficult for
our customers - but also for ourselves - to reposition containers, "
Linnér says. " So instead of leasing out containers and getting
them back at the same station, our customers demanded
to basically drop them off at the destination instead. That
increased a lot the number of one-ways. "
That trend has driven the need for growth of Envirotainer's
ULD fleet, Linnér explains, so the company expanded its
active container fleet by over 30 percent last year and is planning
to do the same this year.
According to Andreas Seitz, managing director of DoKaSch
Temperature Solutions, congestion at seaports threw international
supply chains into severe imbalance, furthering cargo
capacity issues.
" The rapid increase in demand for air freight to compensate
this missing ground-bound capacities not only made air
cargo capacities less available, but also more difficult to overwatch, "
Seitz says.
During the second half of the pandemic, the air cargo
industry was tasked with distributing vaccines for COVID19,
globally.
" Pharma was continuously shipped during the pandemic.
But when the vaccines started to ship, we saw an uptick. That
accelerated the growth. We shipped well over a billion doses
of COVID vaccines in our containers, " Linnér says.
At DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, officials saw similar
demands for specialized equipment for temperature-sensitive
freight and high risk/high value goods.
" The corona crisis has clearly increased the demand for
these highly specialized containers. One reason for the growing
demand were the transportation of vaccines, " says Seitz.
Since restrictions have begun to ease, Linnér says Envirotainer
has seen an accelerated growth of shipments of
pharmaceuticals.
" We believe that the normal pharmaceutical shipments
were suppressed during the pandemic, both due to the
restricted capacity but also due to the need to ship vaccines,
which were even more prioritized, " he says.
" The increasing internationalization of the pharmaceutical
industry also continues to drive strong demand for the transport
of temperature-sensitive air cargo such as pharmaceuticals
and biotech supplies, " Seitz adds.
Coming out of the pandemic, officials at Unilode see passenger
loads returning. As a result, the ULD mix is rebalancing
to pre-pandemic levels.
" In those markets where we're seeing the passengers
return, we're obviously starting to put many more containers
back into operation, " Marino says, noting a prime example is
airlines in China increasing flight schedules as restrictions
ease. " We're now starting to introduce a lot more containers
back into operation than before because passengers are
starting to fly.
" Our expectation is that the container traffic will become
busier because a lot of airlines still have some way to go
before they get to pre-pandemic levels, " he continues. " As
18 || Ground Support Worldwide || April 2023
Unilode's pooling concept can
help with sustainability efforts
while keeping costs down.
airlines start to increase schedules, we expect the container
traffic to get back to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. "
What's more, Unilode officials also hope cargo volumes will
remain strong.
" We know that yield remains strong compared to pre-pandemic
levels, but it has come off its peak somewhat, " Marino
says. " I hope that cargo volumes that have softened will not
decrease further and that we see a robustness in cargo volumes
moving forward. "
ULD Technology
To meet the needs of cargo carriers, new technology is being
incorporated into ULDs and containers.
For example to assist with temperature-sensitive goods like
pharmaceuticals, DoKaSch Temperature Solution's Opticooler
utilizes compressors and heat exchangers for temperature
regulation. The Opticooler's temperature control system
allows the unit to autonomously regulate temperature to
avoid deviations.
" In the area of temperature-controlled containers, it is primarily
the pharmaceutical manufacturers who specify the
requirements for the containers so that the valuable goods
such as medicines and vaccines can be transported safely and
reliably to their destination, " says Seitz. " For this reason, we
are always in close contact with the industry in order to constantly
optimize our Opticooler to meet the requirements. "
Linnér notes Envirotainer has invested heavily in ULD technology
to ensure containers meet the needs of the pharmaceutical
industry, among others.
" We've invested a lot in terms of increasing the quality of
the containers. In 2021 and last year, we launched two ULD
sizes with our latest technology, " he says.
Envirotainer officials have made significant investments in
three key areas. These include temperature control, live monitoring
and battery technology.
From a technology standpoint, Unilode has placed an
emphasis on digitalizing its fleet of ULDs.
UNILODE AVIATION SOLUTIONS
april2023

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