Commercial

Press, 21 April 1977, Page 12

Commercial

Lack of air cargo space threat to exports

A warning to South Island exporters that they may expect a drastic reduction in air freight capacity during June. July and August was issued yesterday by' the Christchurch Air Freight Forwarders’ Association.

Space for Sydney would be virtually halved during this period while the availability of cargo space to Melbourne in the same three months would be 10 per cent lower than last year.

“And this is at a time when New Zealand has a critical overseas exchange problem and the Government is calling on industry to boost manufactured exports,” said the association’s president (Mr A. D. Thomas). Booking requests at the present time already exceeded the weekly capacity of fered by the airlines for the period concerned, said Mr Thomas. “What makes matters

worse.” he said, “is that only one wide-bodied aircraft (a DC-10) is scheduled to Sydney. Melbourne and Brisbane each week, the balance of available space being supplied by Boeing 707 s which are limited in the type of cargo they can carry.” International flights under present schedules were operating to near capacity and the planned reduction of services would mean that exporters who were committed to maintaining regular scheduled deliveries to their overseas markets would not be able to meet their obligation. “Although additional capacity was offered to alleviate a similar situation last year, exporters were unable to take advantage of this offer because of the substantially increased freight rates demanded for the special flights,” said Mr Thomas.

“Obviously, they could not be expected to absorb, almost without notice, sharply

increased freight costs on merchandise previously costed on normal rates.” Members of the association handle 80 per cent of the total exports by air freight in the trans-Tasman sector, said Mr Thomas, and it was because of this close identity with the export trade that the association was so greatly concerned at a situation which must have a harmful effect on New Zealand’s overseas trade.

The association appreciated the problems of Air New Zealand which had reduced cargo carrying capacity because of a fall in passenger demand. “Nevertheless, in our present economic situation it is imperative that both the Government, so anxious to promote exports, and our international airline have a responsibility to provide adequate means of transportaexporters,” said Mr Thomas, tion for exporters,” said Mr Thomas.