b'SEPTEMBER 2025NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS NEWSPAPER 53(CELEBRATIONcontin- ing to build new or stronger ued from page 20) connectionsgloballyforits Asia.CargoesincludeJohncustomers. Our number one Deere, Kubota and Caterpillarfocus is growing distribution farm equipment; crane parts;centersfortheregionand generatorsandtransformers;Asianimportsbecausethat steelbeams;windturbines;iswhereweseethecritical and heavy equipment.mass,saysCoates.India Ro/RolinesatPortofisamarketthatourexport-GalvestonincludeWalleniusershaveexpressedinterest Wilhelmsen, America Roll On- in connecting with by direct RollOffCarrier(ARC),Kserviceandwehavebeen Line and recently added NYKseekingonetohandleboth Lines.Ro/Roalsoincludesexports to India and the retail BMW and Mini Cooper autosfinished goods coming out of fromEuropeandMexico.that region.BMWhasoperatedanewHigh on the ports agenda vehicle import and processingfor its customers is beefing up center at the port since 2016. trade and direct connections The ports cargo volumeswith the west coast of South have been reduced during theAmerica, particularly Colom-(EYEScontinued fromin the US, New York, Chicago,profit in the years 2020-2022construction,butoncecom- bia, Chile and Peru, accord-page 32) Washington D.C. and Atlanta with no pay cuts or job losses. pleted in 2026 Rees expectsingtoCoates.Assheputs AddisAbaba,willhaveanwith a modern fleet of 150 air- breakbulk,Ro/Roandproj- it, countries and cultures are initial capacity of 60 millioncraft, which could swell to 270P artnershiPs andJv s ect cargo to pick up signifi- comfortable with the existing passengers per year, expand- by 2035. EthiopianAirlineshascantly. Were on the cusp oflogistical plans theyve been able to 110 million, with theOn the cargo side, the car- alsodevelopedaseriesofa new era of cargo growth forworking with for years. The potential to handle more thanrier has built up an extensivestrategicpartnershipswithGalveston, Rees says. Foropportunity for us is to open 3.7milliontonsofcargoregional and inter-continentalother African carriers, includ- the first time in decades, thetheireyestothebenefitsof annually too. networkovermanyyearstoing the acquisition of ASKYGalvestonWharvesanditsmovingcargothroughNew Its sprawling facilities willbecome a respected name inAirlines in Togo and a 49%partners have the opportunityOrleansanddiversifying include over 100,000 sq/m ofthe industry. stakeinMalawiAirlines.to develop our cargo businesstheir current supply chain. cargo and support facilities. The result is today Ethio- Thishasenabledthecarrierto its full potential, generat- Traditionally,joboneat Themegaairportcitypia Airlines stands as a modelto establish its hub approaching hundreds of new jobs andanymarineportistokeep project is in response to theinternationalairlinepoisedin West and Southern Africatremendous economic growthcargogrowingandmoving rapidgrowthinEthiopiasformoreexpansionbothinwhich has cemented the air- for the region. but Branch, Coates, Mansour airpassengertrafficwhichthe air and on the ground. lines reach on the continent. Reesadds,Wevebeenand their colleagues are con-willseeBoleInternationalAnd the secret of its suc- The airlines strategy hasvery fortunate to be able to pullstantlysellingPortNOLAs Airport (ADD), that currentlycess? alsoentailedajointventuretheseprojectstogether.Thecapabilitiesandadvantages. serves Addis Ababa, reachingAccording to a case studywith a major logistics playerfuture is bright in Galveston. For example, Coates says it is its maximum capacity in theby a unit of the University ofin the shape of DHL Globalthe only port with a short-line next few years. Londons School of OrientalForwarding,DHLsairandrailroad,theNewOrleans ThenewairportwillStudies(SOAS),Ethiopianoceanfreightspecialistwith(NETWORKScontinuedPublicBelt,thatconnects havetheadvantageofaAirlines story is one of con- whom it has created a joint- from page 25) with all six class one railroads lowerelevationcomparedtinuing to defy the scepticsventurecompany.DHL- GXO, Maersk and defense ser- that converge on its 2500 plus toADD,whichisonetheandanoutstandingdemon- EthiopianAirlinesLogisticsvicesgroupSerco,toexploreacres of port-owned property.highest airports in the worldstrationthatastate-ownedServices has enhanced Ethio- waysofenablingtherapidAnd just as the city of New andsubjecttooperationalenterpriseinalow-incomepiaslogisticsinfrastructuremobilizationofthelogisticsOrleans has 263 hotels includ-restrictions, such as reducedAfricancountrycanbesus- and connections, and the com- sectors workforce in times ofing a number of luxury proper-aircraft payloads. tainably,andsometimespany does business across thenational crisis. ties aimed at pampering guests, ADDs future role, whenexceptionally, profitable. entire African continent. The agreement also reflectsPort NOLA sees itself as able thenew,four-runwaymega- It underlines that the Easttheincreasingrelianceoftoprovidemoreboutique airport enters service, will beAfricancarrierisprofession- C atalyst fore xPorts modern defense strategies onlikeservicewithdirectcus-to operate as a hub for Ethio- ally-runwithanindependentEthiopian has been quickprivate sector know-how andtomer engagement, business to pianAirlinesdomesticnet- company culture and has builtto tap into new air cargo mar- capacity. businessmatchmakingand work. technological and human capa- ketstoo,buildingafacilityForroadfreightopera- quickissueresolutionser-The new airport will be ofbilities in a high-tech sector. dedicatedtoe-commerce,tors, the MoU opens not onlyvices, maintains its vice presi-a scale enabling it to competeThe study goes on to high- mail and courier logistics ser- the possibility of a pipeline ofdent of cargo development.with major global hubs suchlightthatEthiopianhassus- vicesandpositioning Addisregularbusinessopportuni- But Coates concedes the as Dubai, Doha, and Istanbul. tainedcorporatepartnershipsAbaba as a cross-border hubties, indeed partnerships withport has a need to grow volume (including with foreign firms)for Africa and beyond. governmentbodies,butalsowhichsheisconvincedthe C oMPensationf und and fostered an effective trans- Ithasalsoservedasaresponsibilities, for example,newLouisianaInternational Land clearance work onferofskillsandtechnolo- catalyst for a range of servicemaintainingreadinessforTerminal will help us do that. the new airport is scheduledgies; contributed significantlyandexport-orientedindus- surge deployment under chal- Ourlargestsinglevolume to begin at the end of 2025,toeconomictransformationtries. lenging conditions. importer is the J.M. Smucker pendinganagreementwiththroughforeignexchangeForexample,theinitialCosFolgersCoffeebrand. the2,500farmerswhocur- earnings,exportdiversifica- expansionofthefloricul- We have the largest silo facil-rently occupy the site. tion and the creation of skilledture sector was facilitated by(MOVINGcontinued fromity in North America on dock TheEthiopianAirlinesjobs;andsurvivedintensetheexistenceofanefficientpage 52) behind our existing container Group has made provision forpoliticalinstability,warsandstate-ownedcarrierabletoincreasedcapacityandeffi- terminal that processes green a compensatory fund totalingregime changes. transporthighlyperishableciency, she says. coffee beans.$350 million to restore liveli- andtime-sensitiveproductsWereplanninganewRight now, the leadership hoods and resettle communi- P rofitabled uring todestinationmarkets.Thegreenfield container terminal,is on the hunt for a small and ties that will be affected by theP andeMiCy ears growing success of the sectorcalledtheLouisianaInterna- growing importer, or a high-construction of the airport. During the COVID, wheninturnpromptedtheairlinetionalTerminal,downriver,volumeretailerthatdirectly PhaseIoftheprojectmost airlines had to be bailedtoinvestinmodernfreight- belowaMississippiRiverimports goods to the port and isslatedforcompletionbyout by governments, the airlineers and expand cold storagebridge that is presently restrict- is working with the Louisiana November 2029. showed its resourcefulness inwarehousing. ingustoreceiving10,000officials to target distribution re-fitting 25 passenger planesThegroupscargo-han- TEUvessels,sheexplains.centers to drive that volume, s eCret tos uCCess ? as cargo carriers. This enableddlingcomplexisnowtheA three-year US Army Corpscontends Coates.But what are the factorsthecompanytosupportthelargestinAfricawiththeofEngineerspermittingpro-whichhaveenabledEthio- countrys horticultural export- capacitytohandleonemil- cess is wrapping up soon. Thew hat abouta Mazon ?pianAirlinestoundertakeers who were struggling withlion tonnes of cargo per yearCorpscompletedadredg- Funny you mention that suchapotentiallygame- highfreightcostsaswellasandthefloricultureindus- ingprojectto50-feetfromshe muses, Amazon has three changing project? to deliver millions of COVIDtryhasbecomeanimpor- the mouth of the river to Portand a half million square feet Well, in Africas extremelyvaccinesacrossAfricaandtant foreign exchange earnerNOLA in November 2024. in Louisiana, mainly sortation challengingaviationsector,itSouth America. employing20,000peopleand fulfillment We are hope-has maintained a strong growthDespitethepandemic,directly and indirectly. d istributionC enters fultoseeanimportcross-curve and now serves 125 des- Ethiopian Airlines was one ofQuiteastoryandoneAside from physical improve- dockingfacilityinourport tinations worldwide - includingonly three carriers to make awith more chapters to come. ments, port leadership is seek- region soon.'