DHL wins STAT Times award
DHL Global Forwarding has been named Africa's International Freight Forwarder of the Year for the third time. The International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo was voted by STAT Times' readers worldwide and awarded to DHL at the STAT Times Awards in Johannesburg on 26 February.
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Roger Olsson, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding sub-Saharan Africa, said DHL offers tailor-made solutions to businesses in Africa and it's a service that's second to none. "It's a tribute - to be named number one by STAT Time's readers - to DHL's strong African team that their dedication to excellence in international freight forwarding has been recognised yet again.
"DHL has been supporting the business in Africa for more than 35 years now but what's most important is that we have continued to anticipate, adapt and create services that clearly meet Africa's fast evolving business needs and help fulfil its vast potential," Olsson said.
Positive trade activity
According to the 2014 year-end report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), trade activity across the African region remained positive despite major economies Nigeria and South Africa under-performing for parts of 2014.
Regional growth supported demand for air freight and capacity rose just 0.9% for the year as a whole, helping to strengthen load factors. African carriers' freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) grew by 12.2% in December and 6.7% for the year as a whole. Globally, the air cargo business is growing again after several years of stagnation with demand growth up 4.5% compared to 2013 measured by freight FTKs.
With a focus on the oil and gas and the mining sectors in the past few years, DHL's freight management team has been very successful in developing customized solutions for customers in these sectors. DHL Global Forwarding also saw significant volume growth in Africa in both its regular and charter operations connecting all regions with Africa for the oil and gas and the mining sectors. In addition, the India-Africa and China-Africa lanes are growing strongly, driven mainly by the life sciences, pharmaceutical and high tech sectors.
