With the pandemic seemingly behind us, ULD CARE is moving into 2023 with a very full agenda.

And we hope that this newsletter will provide all our followers with some interesting content.

Annual conference 2023

First and foremost, we will once again gather in person in Athens as part of the Air Cargo Handling conference between September 20 and 22. We have decided to follow the 2022 formula of co-locating with Air Cargo Handling and the other associated events, as it both reduces the risk associated with a stand-alone event and allows other stakeholders from the air cargo industry to benefit from taking part in the “ULD conversation”.

We therefore invite you to mark your calendars as this promises to be a great event whether you have attended our 2022 event or whether you missed that one and are looking forward to reconnecting this year.

Delegates attending this event can expect to hear discussions on digitalization, efficiency, safety, training, and, of course, sustainability. For those who attended in 2022 and want to refresh their memories, or those who didn’t attend and would like to see how the event went, please watch the video at: uldcare.com/uld-care-annual-conference-archives/uld-care-annual-conference-2022.

E-UCR app

In the months following the 2022 event, the world has had to grapple with a variety of geopolitical and economic challenges which, of course, have had an impact on aviation and the air cargo industry. During this time, ULD CARE has remained focused on the future which, of course, was our theme in 2022 and we are particularly pleased to be able to show the results of these efforts in the form of the ULD CARE E-UCR app and administrative platform.

As some of you may recall, ULD CARE was starting to address the issue of control of off airport ULD transfers about 10 years ago. We are, of course, uniquely qualified to address this given that we have operated the interline IULDUG system since the 1970s. The system, which continues to operate on a daily basis, providing support to its airline users, actually remains extremely effective and provides us with a perfect template to expand the footprint and include transfers of ULD assets to non-airline participants.

And given the almost universal application of digitalization to modern life, it makes absolutely zero sense for the air cargo industry to continue using a paper and pencil process for recording ULD transfers. Some may recall that around 20 to 30 years ago, there was actually an independent ULD bounty hunter (we don’t recall his name) who, armed with long lists of missing ULD (mostly PMC) from his airline customers, travelled the world locating the missing items and collecting a fee for each one he found. While, in the last couple of weeks, ULD CARE was approached by the branch of a large freight forwarder in Canada asking if we could help them identify the owners of a stack of PMC sitting in their warehouse. A situation that no doubt is replicated in countless locations around the world.

White paper

Our regular followers may recall that our initial approach was to include some kind of “dollarization” calculation, as is the case with the existing IULDUG, but following advice from the number of parties we recognized that this could run the risk of being viewed as anti-competitive. We have therefore pivoted our approach to the digitalization of the UCR and making the data available to all stakeholders, ULD owners, off-airport parties and cargo terminals. To this end, we have rewritten our previously published White Paper and have refocused the content on efficiency and sustainability. To download the new document, please go to the following address here.

App and the report platform video

The technology for the app is not particularly challenging and the associated back-office reporting system is all relatively simple. To learn more about this, please watch this short video we have prepared for you which shows how the app and the report platform function:

CLICK HERE

Sustainability

Sustainability is front and centre of every business today and the air cargo industry is no exception. Indeed, on one hand the airline industry is routinely held up to be a major contributor to carbon emissions while, on the other hand, it is hard to imagine a world without air travel and, of course, air freight. It is therefore incumbent on all of us in the air cargo ecosphere to do some heavy lifting in this area and it’s with great pleasure that ULD CARE is able to showcase the efforts of our member organisations in our newsletters and face-to-face events.

In this newsletter we are delighted to display the sustainability initiatives of our member SATCO.

Solar installations are implemented or under planning at all 5 SATCO facilities.

1. Indianapolis, IN on line August 31, 2022 – Solar Electrical production planned at 100% capacity need
2. Loveland, OH on like January 4, 2023 – Solar electrical production planned at 125% capacity need
3. Los Angeles, CA planned completion December 2023
4. Memphis, TN planned completion March 2024
5. Louisville, KY planned completion December 2024

With the Indianapolis and Loveland facilities producing respectively 300 Kw and 1.2 Mw per day. Since these 2 installations commenced production, they have delivered.

• MWH Production – 118.50 MWH to date as of March 23, 2023
• CO2 Emissions Saved – 151,185 pounds
• Equivalent Trees Planted – 1,143

While at the same time SATCO has implemented a range of energy-saving measures.

• LED Lighting – All Facilities
• Automation & Robotics to increase production efficiencies
• Recycling of materials
  – 100% capture of aluminum production drop
  – Programs in place for recapture on composite materials
• EV commercial vehicle

And last, but certainly not least, they continue to seek to remove unproductive tare weight from their range of ULD products.

And, still on the subject of sustainability readers may well recall that late 2022 we invited them to complete the TIACA sustainability survey. The result of this survey has just been published at https://tiaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/TIACA-Sustainability-Insight-Report-2023-16032023-press-release-ready.pdf and we recommend taking a few minutes to read this very very comprehensive document. One section we find particularly interesting is page 22, listing the top 30 actionable priorities for aircargo stakeholders. Listing the top 5.

1. Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence
2. Invest and support innovation
3. Contribute to the global picture through industry collaboration
4. Accelerate sustainable digitalization
5. Invest in training & education

ULD CARE is very pleased to say that our solutions-based focus is actually perfectly aligned with these top 5 industry priorities and that we are always working to improve operational excellence through innovation, industry collaboration and digitalization while supporting the ever-important need for higher levels of training and education. In short ULD CARE is right on track when it comes to sustainability!

Learn more