It’s always good to hear old wisdom from those who have been part of Singapore’s growing air freight industry, but these days SAAA@Singapore’s Steven Lee has his eyes on the road ahead. In this interview, the chairman of the air freight forwarder group shares his industry outlook and the trade body’s top priorities in the near term.

What has been the common sentiment of member forwarders when it comes to softened volumes and rates this year? Does the group predict an uptick come year-end?
As of 11 August 2023, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced Singapore 2023 GDP growth forecast for Singapore has been narrowed to 0.5 to 1.5 percent from 0.5 to 2.5 percent. Based on Singapore’s National Statistics, our manufacturing has dipped to 12.1 percent, and semiconductor is on a downtrend. With manufacturing and semiconductor industry heading south, it has a big impact on Singapore export volumes, thereby explaining a slightly pessimistic outlook over the normal peak period for last quarter of year. A bright spot, however, is that event logistics is a bright spot, with more international events and concerts being held in Singapore.

Safety, digitalisation and sustainability have been the key priorities for the industry this year. Do you see a gap between larger and smaller forwarders in addressing these priorities? Where should small and mid-sized air freight forwarders focus their resources?

Though larger forwarders have been focusing on these key priorities, we are seeing more interest in smaller forwarders catching up on them too for business competitiveness and continuity. Drivers include carriers’ push for sustainability, especially their efforts on carbon offset programmes. Resources allocation and cost investments are key challenges towards this first step, which SAAA is committed to supporting our members to embark on this journey.

What’s your take on the movement of supply chains across Asia Pacific, and how does this affect your business decisions? How important is Singapore as a trans-shipment hub in the region?
Cost and efficiency remain the key fundamentals. Competition drives progress. Within Asia, we are surrounded by neighbours who are stepping up their momentum, which also constantly remind us to always seek continuous excellence as a strategic air cargo and trans-shipment hub position.

What is the group doing in terms of attracting the right talent to the industry? What are the training and skills needed to become successful in the air freight forwarding industry?
We collaborate as an event exhibitor in Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s One Aviation event in August as a form of industry outreach to spread positivity working in our air cargo sector. To become successful, it requires the right ‘SKA’, which include skills (competency level to perform your domain job specialization), knowledge (relevant information with right training) and attitude (diligence and positive vibes and passion for the industry).

Three main priorities of SAAA@Singapore this year

Workforce
The group was appointed programme partner by WSG to lead various workforce programmes for the air transport sector, including a) sectorial job redesign initiative for business and workforce transformation, b) capabilities development programme and c) place-and-train programme for air transport coordinators.

Safety
SAAA and IATA are co-organizing their 4th event at this year’s Air Cargo Day on 31 October 2023 at Singapore Expo, with the theme “PASS” or “Propel Aviation Standards and Safety”, which will focus on key topics such as air cargo trends and safety. The group conducts its Dangerous Goods Competency Based Training Assessment (CBTA) training at the new Kallang training centre and will be undergoing audits for its recertification of the IATA Dangerous Goods CBTA Excellence Centre Status this October.

Industry partnership and nurturing young talent
SAAA@Singapore is the Strategic Supporting Organization for MMI Asia’s first Southeast Asian edition of Transport Logistics and Air Cargo, to be held from 1 to 3 Nov 2023, helming the Singapore Pavilion, supported by Enterprise Singapore. On top of this, SAAA Council members also extended professional expertise to nurture young talents with industry skills among collaborations with higher tertiary education like all local polytechnics undergraduates and Institute of Technical Education undergraduates on their Nitec course pursuit.