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Singapore Airlines appoints Menzies to handle cargo at Western Sydney

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has awarded Menzies Aviation a contract to deliver cargo, ramp and passenger services at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI). Menzies will support SIA's ad hoc freighter operations and daily passenger flights at the new airport from the start of the airline's operations on 23 November. The 24-hour cargo precinct at WSI officially opened for business in July and passenger services started in October. The contract will be supported by Menzies' new 12,500 sq m cargo facility at WSI, announced in April, that is capable of handling up to 200,000 tonnes annually, making it the company's largest cargo warehouse in Oceania and Southeast Asia. Menzies' new facility is equipped to handle a broad range of cargo, including pharmaceuticals, perishables, e-commerce shipments and heavy freight. The operation also utilises MACH, Menzies' next-generation cargo management platform, providing customers with enhanced visibility, efficiency and real-time shipment tracking. Menzies and SIA already work together on freighter ramp handling operations in Sydney and Melbourne, while Menzies was also awarded SIA's ground handling contract in Brisbane and Cairns earlier this year. Darren Masters, executive vice president Oceania, Southeast Asia & China, Menzies Aviation, said: "We are proud to be appointed by Singapore Airlines, our first airline customer at Western Sydney International Airport. "This builds on our long-standing partnership with the airline and reflects our ability to deliver world-class passenger, ramp and cargo services. "Our new airside cargo facility and integrated service offering will support airline growth, strengthen supply chains and help establish the airport as a major aviation and cargo gateway for Australia." Foo Chai Woo, regional vice president South West Pacific, Singapore Airlines said: "As we prepare for the launch of operations at WSI from 23 November 2026, Singapore Airlines is working closely with Menzies to ensure we are ready to deliver the high-quality passenger, ramp and cargo handling services our customers expect from us." The contract builds on Menzies' growing presence across Australia, where the company provides air cargo and ground services at 15 airports nationwide. WSI is Menzies' 11th cargo operation in Australia.

Freighter capacity divides air cargo fortunes as rates climb

Access - or not - to freighter capacity is helping shape air cargo's fortunes. IAG Cargo, which shed its freighter operations more than a decade ago, lost traffic following cancelled services, while asset-heavy DHL reported double-digit volume growth. But rising rates do not necessarily signal a late peak-season surge, according to new analysis from Xeneta. Global demand increased 6% year on year in October, while capacity remained flat, Xeneta reported today. Its dynamic load factor, of both cargo weight and volume, rose two percentage points, to 63%. Nevertheless, chief airfreight officer Niall van de Wouw said there were few signs of a sudden increase in capacity pressure or charter prices that would indicate an acceleration in demand. "The market is continuing its steady pace of growth, as we've been reporting since March. It's strong, but it's not a 'peak' season, and time is quickly running out for volumes to shift higher," he said. Strong demand for AI infrastructure is tightening availability on selected routes, while higher fuel costs are pushing up rates even where volumes have weakened. IAG's results today illustrate the consequences of losing lift. Third-quarter cargo revenue increased 3.9% year on year, to €294m ($328m), but traffic, measured in cargo tonne km, fell 13.9%, to 1,101m. Revenue per CTK rose 20.7%, more than compensating for the traffic decline. For the first nine months, cargo revenue declined 5.3%, to €864m, with traffic down 12.8% and revenue per CTK up 8.7%. "Cargo capacity continued to be impacted by disruption in the Middle East and the cancellation of third-party long-haul freighter capacity, which reduced volumes, particularly from Asia Pacific," the group said. Interestingly, IAG Cargo has not issued its own results release. But parent IAG said operating cost savings, fuel-related price increases, and a continued focus on premium and higher-yielding traffic partly offset the impact. Third-quarter performance strengthened through higher yields across India and Asia-Pacific, supported by resilient demand for premium and specialist products. The group also said it continued to grow its recently launched global cargo joint business with Qatar Airways Cargo and MASkargo. However, its report did not identify the cancelled freighter services or quantify any replacement capacity provided through the partnership. DHL Global Forwarding, meanwhile, moved 497,000 tonnes of airfreight in Q3, up 12%, or 53,000 tonnes, year on year. The company said growth was particularly strong on Asia-origin tradelanes. Its Express division provided a more explicit illustration of the value of controlling aircraft capacity. DHL said temporary constraints in the international airfreight market generated additional demand, served through its own global network, contributing approximately €100m to quarterly earnings. Express operating profit rose 50% to €1.04bn. Global Forwarding also increased earnings, although the group has not established how much the forwarding volume growth reflected an advantage in securing capacity. At Emirates, cargo revenue rose sharply even as tonnage edged lower. SkyCargo carried approximately 1.2m tonnes in the six months to September, down 1% year on year, while cargo revenue increased 52%. Emirates attributed the increase to regional conflict reducing available airfreight capacity, while disruption to shipping encouraged customers to seek air transport. During the period, it added five new 777 freighters and deployed its first passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft, alongside expanding its freighter network and frequencies. The pricing pressure is evident in the latest Baltic Exchange figures. The Baltic Air Freight Index averaged 2,651.25 in October, up 8.2% from September and 25.9% year on year, according to commentary from Cargo Facts Consulting, published today. October's average rate for Hong Kong-Europe increased 11.1% from September, while Shanghai-North America's BAI82 rose 7.1%. TAC's accompanying analysis showed Hong Kong spot rates to the US east coast climbing from HK$51.84 per kg on 30 September to HK$63.02 on 30 October. Rates to Europe rose from HK$35.42 to HK$40.84 over the same period. Xeneta's separate dataset put October's global average spot rate at $3.11 per kg, up 4% month on month and 29% year on year. Europe-North America recorded the largest monthly increase among its 10 selected corridors, rising 10% to $2.31 per kg as airlines moved to winter schedules. But fuel costs complicate any assumption that higher freight rates translate directly into stronger airline margins. TAC cited IATA figures showing jet fuel prices 112.8% higher year on year on 30 October, alongside strong demand for semiconductors and other AI-related equipment. Capacity is responding, although the picture varies by corridor and month. Cargo Facts Consulting reported a 5.2% month-on-month recovery in Asia-Europe freighter capacity in September, following three consecutive months of decline. Asia-North America capacity increased 2.3%, its third successive monthly rise. For October, however, Xeneta reported another decline in direct Asia-Europe freighter capacity, adding to the loss of capacity on routings via the Middle East. The transpacific market followed a different path. Data shows Asia Pacific-North America chargeable weight around 15% higher year on year last month with freighter capacity growing on a similar trajectory. In its November market update, CH Robinson said technology shipments were tightening selected Asia-origin services, as oversized and heavy shipments are dependent on freighters. It warned that airlines could redirect freighters towards stronger transpacific demand, reducing choices elsewhere. However, capacity remained available across most major Asia-Europe services, where the seasonal peak had developed more slowly than anticipated. Today also brought a move towards closer cooperation between European and Japanese carriers: Lufthansa Cargo and ANA announcing plans to explore reviving their Japan-Europe cargo joint venture, expanded to include Swiss WorldCargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines. The original venture began in 2014, but was suspended in September 2023 following restructuring within ANA Holdings' cargo business. A new memorandum of understanding provides a framework for the four carriers to assess cooperation, including additional routing and capacity options. "We are pleased to renew our dialogue and broaden our cargo joint-venture to include Swiss WorldCargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines," said Kenichi Wakiya, ANA's EVP for cargo marketing and services and CEO of ANA Cargo. The proposed arrangement would combine the carriers' European and Japanese networks, including NCA's dedicated freighter operations. No launch date or commitment to additional flights was announced. Looking further ahead, Xeneta expects rates to decline overall in 2027, and anticipates some Asia-Europe cargo switching back to ocean once shipping schedule reliability shows a sustained recovery, most likely from the second quarter. "In the past couple of years, it has not been the level of demand that caused the uptick in rates, it has been the availability of capacity. If the Middle East situation recovers, there will be a rebalancing of demand and supply, and rates will then become lower," said Mr van de Wouw. But uncertainty continues to complicate longer contracts, he added. "Forwarders can, of course, offer shippers 12-month deals but, given the market conditions, they would have to bake-in so much uncertainty the price becomes uncompetitive."

Cargo crime in North America down in Q3, but losses are mounting

Organised criminal networks are increasingly exploiting identity fraud, carrier impersonation and weaknesses in freight verification, driving cargo theft losses across Canada and the US up 39% year on year, despite a sharp decline in reported incidents Verisk CargoNet recorded 2,072 of reported supply chain crime incidents across the countries through to 23 October, marking a 25% decrease in total numbers from the 2,755 recorded during the comparable period in 2025. VP operations at Verisk CargoNet Keith Lewis told The Loadstar: "But while the number of incidents declined, the financial impact moved in the opposite direction, losses increasing 39% to $718.9m." Furthermore, he noted that the average documented value of stolen goods had also registered a massive surge, 72% year on year, from approximately $261,000 to more than $448,000. Over the third quarter, CargoNet recorded 547 incidents, approximately 33% fewer than a year earlier, but estimated losses still reached $230.1m, with California accounting for the largest share, with 182 incidents, followed by New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois. "The data shows why fewer reported incidents should not necessarily be interpreted as lower cargo theft risk. Losses associated with these events are becoming increasingly significant," Mr Lewis added. Among the biggest concerns are fictitious pickups, where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers to collect and divert shipments, with CargoNet recording 138 such incidents in Q3, compared with 147 over the same period of 2025. Mr Lewis continued: "Criminals are looking for ways to exploit identity, communications, and shipment-verification processes to pose as legitimate participants in the supply chain." He noted these efforts tended to involve schemes making use of compromised business email accounts, internet-based phone systems, and transport-industry applications. On a commodity basis, food and beverages was the most frequently targeted category in Q3, accounting for 94 incidents, followed by metals (63), household goods (49), and electronics (46), while warehouses and distribution centres accounted for 197 reported incidents. Chair of TAPA Americas Scott Cornell told The Loadstar: "Cargo theft has fundamentally changed in the US over the last six years. We have seen massive increases in the overall cargo theft numbers and values, and, in particular, a significant rise in strategic cargo theft." He estimated strategic theft, involving deception rather than straightforward physical stealing, had risen 10-fold this decade, up from less than 3% of all cargo theft before 2020 to roughly 30% or more. While he stressed the majority of incidents involved conventional physical theft, Mr Cornell said: "Bad actors are using technology such as AI to become increasingly sophisticated and globalised, running these schemes from anywhere in the world." One emerging technique, the "Trojan Driver Scam", involves criminals infiltrating legitimate, vetted trucking companies, highlighting the limitations of verification systems concentrating on checking carriers rather than individual drivers. Consequently, Mr Cornell said: "Thorough background checks and carrier- and driver-level vetting need to be standard due diligence." Indeed, the Airforwarders' Association (AfA) is calling on US lawmakers to strengthen federal response by incorporating the Combating Organised Retail Crime Act (CORCA) into the final fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. AfA CEO Steve Smith said: "Forwarders are dealing with organised networks across state lines, exploiting gaps between jurisdictions. Republicans and Democrats should continue working together to give law enforcement and businesses the tools to root them out." The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives, would establish an Organised Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Centre and improve intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement, and private sector organisations. Mr Smith told The Loadstar: "It would help investigators connect related incidents across jurisdictions. A fraudulent pickup in one state and a stripped trailer in another may involve the same network, but fragmented information can make connection harder to identify." Furthermore, it also includes provisions to aggregate theft values over a 12-month period for certain federal stolen property offences, alongside expanded money laundering provisions and criminal forfeiture measures. AfA members have reported criminals buying established federal motor carrier registrations from struggling hauliers for $25,000-$35,000, with Mr Smith noting that this allows them to exploit years of apparently clean operating history. "Two extra minutes up front can save you two months of difficulty on the back end," Mr Cornell said, urging forwarders and trucking companies to strengthen verification procedures, train frontline employees and check drivers' identities before releasing shipments.