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Network adds fifth Boeing 747 freighter

Network Airline Management (NAM) has expanded its freighter fleet with the addition of a fifth aircraft as it looks to keep pace with strong customer demand. The additional Boeing 747-400 converted freighter joined NAM's fleet at the end of July and will operate out of the company's primary hub of Liege Airport. The freighter addition brings NAM's fleet of aircraft to five - all of which are Boeing 747-400Fs operated by Air Atlanta. According to FlightRadar 24, the aircraft has so far conducted flights to Sharjah, Liege, Lagos, Accra, Entebbe and Nairobi. The company said that the additional aircraft would solidify its commitment to providing "robust, reliable capacity to the global air cargo market". "This latest addition boosts the company's operational capability to handle high-volume general cargo, oversized freight and specialised shipments across its expanding international network," the company explained in a press release. Jonathan Clark, chief executive of parent company Network Aviation Group, said: "The 747 remains the undisputed workhorse of heavy-lift air cargo and adding another converted freighter to our fleet allows us to keep pace with strong customer demand. "This expansion directly enhances our flexibility, frequency and overall service delivery for our charter and scheduled service customers worldwide." In a recent interview with Air Cargo News, Network Aviation Group vice president for the UK, Ireland and Malta, John Gilfeather, said that continued uncertainty in container shipping had helped boost the firm's performance this year. He explained that perishables exporters, particularly flower shippers, that had been considering switching to ocean freight have instead remained with air cargo following disruption caused by the Red Sea missile crisis and, more recently, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The trend had supported demand for NAM's Liege-based Boeing 747-400 freighter operation. "That has sustained and even increased our regular business, which has been the perishables from Nairobi back to Europe," Gilfeather explains. E-commerce has also continued to drive growth for the airline, despite the US ending the de minimis exemption for low-value imports last year. Europe has also tightened up on its e-commerce import rules this year. "The volumes of e-commerce remain strong," said Gilfeather. "We operate flights from Hong Kong to Europe, and as of 2026, we have commenced scheduled charter routes between Hong Kong and Johannesburg, which has again been utilised for e-commerce." He explains that online retailers have increasingly targeted alternative markets, including Africa, following the introduction of US duties on e-commerce shipments. Looking ahead, Gilfeather expects the European Union's €3 charge on e-commerce imports to have a similar impact to the US policy change. NAM added that it would consider future fleet expansion and growth opportunities to further support its global customer base.

Emirates sees UK export cargo volumes takeoff

Emirates SkyCargo saw its exports from the UK increase by double-digit percentage levels in the last financial year as it benefited from rising demand for aeropsace, perishables and pharma volumes from the country. The Dubai-based carrier saw its UK export volumes increase by 11% year on year to 57,000 tonnes during the year running to March. The growth has continued since then, with UK export volumes between April and June increasing by a rate of 7% year on year. The cargo carrier offers widebody cargo connectivity on over 140 weekly flights from eight UK gateways including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted. The carrier highlighted three areas in particular of growth: aerospace and advanced technology; life sciences and perishables. On aerospace and advanced technology, the carrier said that between January and June it had transported more than 570 tonnes of aircraft parts and aerospace components from the UK to Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. Meanwhile, its aerospace and engineering vertical saw volumes grow more than 300% year on year between January and June. "Beyond aerospace, Emirates SkyCargo has transported high-value technology infrastructure, including data centre equipment and server racks from the UK to global markets," the carrier added. The majority of high-tech equipment and aerospace components transported by Emirates SkyCargo originate from manufacturing and engineering clusters around Manchester and London. Pharma and farming boost In the first half of 2026, Emirates SkyCargo transported over 1,600 tonnes of pharmaceuticals on its aircraft from the UK. The carrier also carried more than 26 tonnes of clinical trial medications from the market. Emirates explained that Newcastle is among the carrier's key regional gateways for pharmaceutical exports, serving a major life sciences manufacturing base in the Northeast. On perishables, the airline said that it had facilitated the export of 1,500 tonnes of Scottish Shellfish as well as over 1,200 tonnes of smoked salmon to international markets around the world. "Much of the Scottish seafood transported by Emirates SkyCargo is shipped directly from Glasgow and Edinburgh, enabling exporters to reach international markets faster and helping premium products arrive fresher to consumers around the world," explained Emirates. Over 1,000 tonnes of food items were flown from the UK to the UAE during this period- the equivalent of 10 fully loaded Boeing777 freighter aircraft. The carrier added: "250 tonnes of strawberries and more than 150 tonnes of cheese were among some of the food items flown to Dubai."

CH Robinson says AI already paying dividends as rivals focus on resilience

Just days after Kuehne+Nagel told investors artificial intelligence could generate Sfr100m-150m ($123m-$184m) in annual productivity gains by the end of 2027, CH Robinson has gone a step further, claiming the technology is already delivering measurable operational and financial benefits. The US forwarder devoted much of its second-quarter earnings call to AI, repeatedly linking it to productivity improvements, margin expansion and market share gains. Yet results from fellow forwarders Logwin and Geodis, also published this week, made little mention of the technology, instead highlighting resilient operations, network expansion, and customer demand. "We achieved [these results] through disciplined execution of our Lean AI strategy, which has enabled us to identify and remove waste and to automate manual processes in the quote-to-cash life cycle of an order," CH Robinson CEO Dave Bozeman told analysts. "The result has been evergreen productivity improvements of over 60% since the end of 2022 in both North American Surface Transportation (NAST) and Global Forwarding." Mr Bozeman said the strategy had created "a scalable model with significant operating leverage", helping the company increase adjusted operating income by nearly 20% year on year, while improving customer service and extending its market share gains in NAST to a 13th consecutive quarter. Chief strategy and innovation officer Arun Rajan said the company's competitive advantage lay not simply in 'using' AI. "Our AI agents are powered by proprietary data, deep logistics expertise, and an engineered context layer that simply cannot be purchased or built overnight," he said. "We don't just treat AI as another tool. We make it part of how we run the business." Rather than relying on a single autonomous system, CH Robinson said it had "hundreds of AI agents trained to perform very specific jobs across the shipment life cycle, with defined responsibilities, clear guardrails, and access to the operational context needed to do those jobs well". Mr Rajan added: "Humans remain in the loop where judgment, exception management, and customer nuance matter most." The company also highlighted what it claimed was the world's first "closed-loop agentic logistics system", combining AI planning and engineering tools to assess entire supply chains in 25 to 30 minutes, rather than four weeks. Meanwhile, the differing narratives came as all three companies reported respectable financial performances. CH Robinson increased second-quarter revenue by 19.3% year on year, to $4.9bn, which it credited to higher pricing in truckload, LTL and air and ocean. Adjusted gross profit rose 6.5%, to $738m, and adjusted operating income climbed 20%. Both its NAST and Global Forwarding divisions achieved their "mid-cycle operating margin targets", enabling the company to reaffirm its full-year operating income guidance. Global Forwarding revenue rose 12.4%, to $896.6m, owing to higher pricing, while adjusted gross profit increased just 0.7%, to $188.8m. Ocean gross profits fell 2.8%, as profit per shipment dropped 4%. Air gross profit went up 23.4%, with a 33.5% increase in profit per tonne - although it shipped 7.5% fewer tonnes. Geodis did not publish full results, but did disclose revenues of €5.3bn - although underlying revenue was down 1.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. It maintained an EBITDA margin of 10%, despite what it described as an uncertain market environment. The French logistics group highlighted its investments in healthcare logistics, its Le Havre logistics hub, acquisitions, and customer-facing digital services - but AI was largely absent from its results presentation. The contrast illustrates how differently major logistics providers are choosing to present themselves to investors and the market. While K+N is beginning to quantify the productivity gains it expects AI to deliver, CH Robinson's gains are already showing in its results. Logwin and Geodis focused on network expansion, operational resilience, and navigating volatile freight markets. Logwin reported first-half revenue of €737.4m, up 6.5% year on year, driven by stronger air and ocean freight business and higher freight rates. However, EBITA fell, from €42.5m to €38m, as competitive pressures squeezed margins. Some forwarders continue to focus on networks and resilience; others increasingly want to be seen as technology-first companies that move freight.