Four airfreight gateways from US now on offer

Röhlig-Grindrod recently unveiled its latest airfreight service between the US and South Africa enabling South African customers to airlift freight to and from four different gateway points in the US. These include Los Angeles, Chicago, JFK New York, and Atlanta. “This is a massive continent,” Dave Graham, airfreight director at Röhlig- Grindod, told FTW. “Having the four gateways means that we have the four geographic points of this country covered: the West Coast, East Coast, the south and the Midwest.” The company has forged a partnership with one single airline, one of the largest airlines operating out of the US. “We have the capacity on one premium airline out of all four of these gateways, which unlocks various advantages for our clients,” Graham said. The combination of the four gateways spreads Röhlig- Grindrod’s spend across the four hubs, enabling the company to offer the service at competitive rates, he said. The company already has an established relationship with the single carrier, but having the service in four different locations with one airline means that the airline also devotes high-level focus to Röhlig- Grindrod’s customers. “Now we are in a position to offer competitive rates on a very reliable service, with ample capacity available from all four directions in the US,” forwarding supervisor Debby Gray noted. The company’s expansion to the US was in response to clients’ needs, according to Wilfred Gentle, airfreight forwarding manager. “Our customers indicated that this was a major trading bloc for them. We had to respond,” he said. “All the trade lanes we have at Röhlig-Grindrod in the airfreight division are very active, competitive trade lanes. To serve these trade lanes, you have to step up your competitiveness. We are not focused on just delivering the cheapest service. Our focus is to deliver a reliable, consistent service at competitive rates.” The US service includes weekend consolidations, Tommy Reddy, Johannesburg branch manager for airfreight, told FTW. “The service is from the US into Johannesburg and Cape Town, and deliveries to Port Elizabeth and Durban are routed through Johannesburg,” he added. Röhlig-Grindrod has secured capacity primarily on line f lights, with the option to increase the capacity for clients as demand for the service inevitably increases, Graham explained. He noted that the carrier partner has a freighter that f lies into South Africa from the US. “We have nice room for expansion and growth,” he added. The new service is in line with Röhlig-Grindrod’s growth strategy for its airfreight business, which was kicked off when Graham joined the group as airfreight director almost one year ago. Since then the group has established a service from Germany, location of the Röhlig head office in Bremen. The services have now expanded to France, Hong Kong, and most recently into the US and China. INSERT & CAPTION Having the four gateways means that we have the four geographic points of this country covered. – Dave Graham