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Qatar, IAG and MASkargo continue roll out of global partnership

Qatar Airways Cargo, IAG Cargo and MASkargo have completed the first customer shipment that covered all three networks in what the partners have described as a "key milestone" in the rollout of their joint business agreement later this year. The successful first trilateral shipment saw 11 tonnes of copper foil - used for electronics and electric vehicle battery production - transported from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) via Doha (DOH) and Dublin (DUB). "Shipped from Malaysia, a leading electronics manufacturing hub, this movement underscores the value of the future Global Cargo Joint Business in connecting production centres with global demand markets through a highly integrated network," the partners said in a press release. "The shipment provides an early demonstration of how customers will benefit from the combined strengths of the three airlines, with cargo moving seamlessly across multiple carriers, hubs and regions through a coordinated global network," the companies added. The partnership was announced in 2025 and will offer more than 400 destinations worldwide through a single network. The three carriers will continue operational trials and integration activities ahead of the planned launch later this year. IAG Cargo chief executive David Shepherd said: "Completing our first trilateral customer shipment is a significant milestone as we continue preparations for the launch of the Global Cargo Joint Business, which will redefine international air cargo. "As we progress towards full launch, our focus remains on delivering a coordinated proposition that provides tangible benefits for customers across the global airfreight market." Mark Jason Thomas, chief executive at MASkargo, added: "For MASkargo, seeing this first shipment move from Malaysia across our partners' networks demonstrates the potential of this collaboration to strengthen the link between Asia's production centres and global demand." Mark Drusch, chief officer cargo at Qatar Airways, highlighted: "For our customers, this is about creating a simpler, more connected experience and demonstrates the strength of our collaboration." The partnership recieved another boost earlier in the week when the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) approved the proposed 'metal neutral' cargo partnership. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) said that the joint business agreement (JBA) is unlikely to eliminate competition on affected routes. CCS also assessed that the Proposed JBA could generate market benefits such as a wider network and better cargo services that more than make up for the reduction in competition on those routes. Earlier this year, IAG Cargo was appointed as the ground handling agent for Qatar Airways Cargo in Dublin and Madrid, two of the Joint Business' strategic hubs. Alongside the introduction of MASkargo handling operations at London Heathrow last year, these developments have supported the operational integration required to deliver the Joint Business.

Singapore approves cargo partnership between Qatar, IAG and MAB Kargo

Singapore has approved the proposed 'metal neutral' cargo partnership between Qatar Airways, IAG Cargo and MAB Kargo that includes co-operation on scheduling, pricing and sales. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) said that the joint business agreement (JBA) is unlikely to eliminate competition on affected routes. CCS also assessed that the Proposed JBA could generate market benefits such as a wider network and better cargo services that more than make up for the reduction in competition on those routes. The three airlines initially applied to the CCS for approval for their partnership in January, with approval finally being granted on 16 September. According to the application, there are 30 overlapping routes that include Singapore. The CCS said in the initial application documents that the partnership aimed to achieve metal neutrality in respect of the provision of air cargo transportation services on the relevant routes. CCS described metal neutrality as a cooperative airline arrangement where partners "jointly manage capacity and pricing whilst sharing profits equally, making them indifferent to which airline's plane or 'metal' carries the cargo". The proposed agreement would cover services across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Americas routes and would generate "significant consumer and economic benefits and efficiencies", the applicants said. Other claimed benefits of the arrangement are: Cost-effective and efficient cargo operations, resulting in higher quality air cargo services and expedited transfers of shipments; enhanced cargo network and capacity; elimination of double marginalisation; cost synergies; wider range of products, services and rate options; and streamlined sales and integrated customer experience. The three airlines announced they would launch a joint global cargo business in April 2025 and provided more details on the plans at a press conference at the Air Cargo Europe event. The three cargo divisions said the unique partnership would align cargo from booking to delivery, across their networks. The Qatar-IAG-MAS partnership aims to ensure bookings with any of the airlines will be integrated and visible across all operating systems, covering the whole combined network. Real-time tracking, product/service alignment for various verticals and a singular loyalty programme - Avios - will also be used. The aim is to ensure that shipments are treated equally throughout the combined network, regardless of which airline a customer or forwarder originally booked with, they explained at the press conference.

Shippers want more from their 3PLs - but do they really need a 4PL?

Shippers are demanding far more from their logistics providers as disruption and supply chain complexity increase - but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to make the leap from 3PL to 4PL. The latest annual Third-Party Logistics Study paints a contradictory picture of the shipper-3PL relationship: 88% of shippers describe their relationships with logistics providers as successful, yet half are consolidating the number of 3PLs they use. And expectations of the remaining providers are rising. The study noted it was "no longer sufficient" for a logistics provider simply to execute the movement of freight from A to B, with shippers increasingly looking for continuous improvement, technology, expertise and value creation. Some 81% of shippers said disruption and supply chain complexity was driving interest in more strategic logistics partnerships, while 76% cited cost optimisation through greater collaboration and 57% digital transformation and technology integration. This changing relationship prompted Seko Logistics to argue that some companies may have outgrown the traditional 3PL model altogether. Paul Lockwood, Seko's UK & Ireland group managing director, said the shift towards 4PL typically began when a shipper's supply chain had become too complex to manage through a collection of individual providers. He identified fragmented visibility, rapid growth, increasing demands on internal logistics teams and disconnected technology systems as signs that a company might need to move towards a 4PL model. "3PL is built to execute. 4PL is built to orchestrate," he said. Rather than simply moving and storing freight, the 4PL assumes responsibility for coordinating multiple logistics providers, technology platforms and data flows, potentially giving the shipper a single view of its supply chain. However, Global Shippers Forum director James Hookham questioned whether increasing demands on logistics providers were translating into a significant shift towards 4PL. He said shippers were certainly asking much more of their existing providers, particularly following successive supply chain disruptions, but he was not seeing a widespread move towards 4PL among the shippers he dealt with. Instead, shippers had become more dependent on their logistics providers for ideas and solutions, rather than simply execution. The economics could also restrict the 4PL model largely to bigger and more complex supply chains, he suggested. Introducing another management layer is a significant step and requires sufficient volume, scale and complexity to produce a return on the additional cost. For many smaller shippers, that threshold may simply be beyond them. That raises the question of whether the distinction between 3PL and 4PL is itself becoming blurred. The study found that 81% of shippers credited their 3PL relationships with improving customer service, 75% with reducing logistics costs and 69% said providers had introduced innovative ways to improve logistics effectiveness. Technology, however, remains a conspicuous weakness. Some 90% of shippers said technological capability was important when selecting a 3PL, but only 57% were satisfied with the capabilities their providers offered. Advanced analytics and network optimisation were each identified by 61% of shippers as important IT requirements from their 3PLs. The trend towards using fewer providers could therefore present both an opportunity and a threat for forwarders. Shippers outsource an average 62% of their logistics expenditure, according to the study, but half are now consolidating their 3PL rosters. There are also questions around the supposed neutrality of the 4PL model. A 4PL is expected to select and manage the most appropriate providers on the shipper's behalf, but many companies offering 4PL services also operate forwarding, warehousing or other logistics businesses of their own. Mr Hookham questioned how neutral such an arrangement could ever be, although he also accepted that access to stronger provider relationships was itself part of what a shipper would expect to gain by handing over greater control of its supply chain. For the moment, at least, the evidence may point less towards shippers abandoning 3PLs than towards a change in what they expect a 3PL to deliver. The study itself found growing demand for more integrated logistics solutions, noting that combining transportation and warehousing services could reduce fragmentation and streamline shipper operations. For forwarders, the challenge may therefore be less about whether their customers will become 4PL users, and more about how much of the visibility, technology, optimisation and strategic input associated with 4PLs they will increasingly be expected to provide themselves.