The dangerous job of delivering mail by air in the early 20th century

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In 1918, the U.S. Postal Service started to experiment with delivering mail by planes, even though the technology was still new. Cockpits were still open-air and passenger planes weren’t even considered yet. From 1918 to 1927, 34 airmail pilots lost their lives in accidents on the job.

Despite the risks, it was a coveted job and pilots were treated similarly to how astronauts are...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-dangerous-job-of-delivering-mail-by-air-in-the-early-20th-century

A gallery of early mail delivery by air

historic mail delivery by plane

In 1918, the airplane was still a new technology, but the Postal Service set out to use it to deliver mail. The undertaking was dangerous and many pilots lost their lives.

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum has a catalog of photographs showing what a challenging and surprising job this was. Check out some of the photos below.

An airmail plane is parked in front of its hangar in Reno, Nevada. (Photo: National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution)
Another airmail plane is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/a-gallery-of-early-mail-delivery-by-air

MSC and Lufthansa in joint bid to take over Italy’s new ITA Airways

The vertical integration and modal mash-up continues. The Loadstar reveals today that a forwarder has started a shipping line and now a shipping line is looking at buying an airline.
MSC has told the Italian government it wants to buy a stake in the new airline, ITA Airways, which began operations in October, replacing defunct Alitalia.
And it’s doing it in partnership with Lufthansa.
As previously reported, Lufthansa has expressed an interest in …

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https://theloadstar.com/msc-and-lufthansa-in-joint-bid-to-take-over-italys-new-ita-airways/

M&A radar: MSC & Lufthansa go for legacy Alitalia – just sublime

At The Loadstar Towers, we could barely contain our excitement yesterday when news broke that MSC Group and Lufthansa were going for ITA Airways, the ‘rejuvenated’ Alitalia (whatever is left of it), Italy’s flag carrier.
Which smells of sensational deal-making – strategic, too?
Uhmm 
“Today MSC Group has expressed to the Italian Government its interest in acquiring a majority stake in ITA Airways,” the statement read, adding that Germanys’ Lufthansa, the “project’s industrial partner”, …

The...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-msc-lufthansa-go-for-legacy-alitalia-just-sublime/

Snapshot: DSV – the ‘M&A value’ evaporates

Value, what value?
As if the week didn’t already get off on the wrong foot for DSV shareholders, with another weekly buyback announcement highlighting the trouble that purchasing stock when the market moves against you can turn out to be…
… there was mild encouragement from the average transaction price sourced from Tab.1 above on Monday: at Dkr1,476 a share, it was (almost perfectly) bang in the middle of the Dkr1,350-1,550 support-resistance …

The post Snapshot: DSV – the ‘M&A value’ evaporates

https://theloadstar.com/snapshot-dsv-the-ma-value-evaporates/

‘What’s the spread on that?’ Cheers as BIFA Freight Awards go live again

After the madness of the past couple of years, there was an air of euphoria at yesterday’s BIFA Freight Service Awards ceremony in London, when around 500 forwarders were let off the leash to go on the lash.
Routinely held on the third Thursday of January, during what would normally be the beginning of the slack season, the annual BIFA Awards, are often rumbustious affairs, but this year there was a …

The post ‘What’s the spread on that?’ Cheers as BIFA Freight Awards go live again appeared...

https://theloadstar.com/whats-the-spread-on-that-cheers-as-bifa-freight-awards-go-live-again/

The Loadstar Podcast | Episode 1: Freight mini-spike or multimodal crunch as CNY factory closures loom?

2022 is already shaping up to be a year of daunting challenges for freight and shipping. Carriers by sea, air, ocean and rail can expect healthy profits. But for buyers, managing procurement and inventories has never been more important.
The lead-in to all-important Chinese New Year factory closures at the start of February is the focus of this episode. Are we seeing the traditional mini-peak or is there a looming multimodal …

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https://theloadstar.com/the-loadstar-podcast-episode-11-freight-mini-spike-or-multimodal-crunch-as-cny-factory-closures-loom/

Clash of IT systems brings delays as new border controls are plugged in

European shippers moving imports of animal origin have faced repeated struggles at the UK border.
There have been interaction difficulties between the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed (IPAFFS) and the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) digital customs systems.
A source told The Loadstar that, while most import operations into the UK following Brexit had so far “proceeded without major problems”, there were continuing issues with the movement …

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https://theloadstar.com/clash-of-it-systems-brings-delays-as-new-border-controls-are-plugged-in/

The next three years a challenging journey to a same-day delivery nirvana

Retailers have a mountain to climb: they see a burning need to add same-day delivery to their online shopping game, but lack the capability.
For its 2022 Bringg Barometer, The State of Retail Delivery and Fulfilment, published last week, delivery and fulfilment cloud platform provider Bringg interviewed retailers in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and Italy about their goals and challenges.
Virtually all respondents, 99%, said they intended to add …

The post The next three years a...

https://theloadstar.com/the-next-three-years-a-challenging-journey-to-a-same-day-delivery-nirvana/

Cargo moving from sea to air has boosted Indian freight services

Global forwarder DB Schenker believes India presents opportunities for air cargo growth, as Covid has driven growth in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.
“There is a growing opportunity for charter services in India as it helps in keeping the movement of commodities stable, especially during critical times like this pandemic,” Vivek Chopra, acting CEO of the cluster India and Indian Subcontinent at DB Schenker, told The Loadstar.
However, he said, capacity remained a major …

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https://theloadstar.com/cargo-moving-from-sea-to-air-has-boosted-indian-freight-services/