It is likely that not many of us have seen the new 10×10 cm handling label that has been developed for the transportation of temperaturecontrolled, time-sensitive goods. Affixed by the shipper, the labels are intended to signal to handlers the need to maintain such packages at between 15°C and 25°Cambient temperature.

Though the use of the label has not yet become mandatory, airlines and freight forwarders are becoming increasingly aware that transporting such goods is treading a thin line and constitutes a whole gamut of risk management. If there is one cargo that is solely dependent on ULDs, it is the perishable trade and obviously the fast-moving — read pharma — variety. As a perishable expert puts it, the difference between a perishable-loaded ULD arriving on time, or arriving late could mean life or death for the products within. Getting it right means a business segment with huge growth potential. Ram Menen, Emirates’ divisional senior VP, Cargo, points out that perishables handling has grown “by leaps and bounds in the last five years”.

Pharma is big business
In short, perishables are important for the air cargo business. Forecasts by IMS Health Incorporated, a provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries covering more than 100 countries, pointed out that the global market value of pharma products could exceed US$975 billion by 2013. The importance, therefore, of the ‘perishable’ goods industry to air cargo was more than evident at the recent 20th Annual IATA Cargo Network Services at Miami in the US. A session titled, ‘Time & Temperature Logistics for Healthcare Products’ outlined how the product has grown and the kind of work that the IATA’s Time & Temperature Task Force (TTTF), a body in its Live Animals and Perishables Board (LAPB), was undertaking.

According to a study by Frost & Sullivan’s programme manager, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, South Asia & Middle East, Bibhuti Bhusan Kar, the global pharmaceutical logistics market recorded revenues of about $90.3 billion in 2008. That included services such as freight, warehousing, and express logistics. Freight forwarders estimate that logistics comprises 45-55 per cent of the costs in the pharmaceutical value chain.

From the air cargo point of view, a single perishable pharmaceutical unit could cost anywhere between $5,000 to $7,000 and a full ULD would contain more than $30 million of goods. A close look at how critical the business is, according to LifeConEx – the only industry-specific Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) of end-to-end temperature controlled transportation solutions for the life sciences industry worldwide – indicates that 20 per cent of the world’s best selling pharmaceuticals are temperature sensitive; $130 billion of the total pharmaceutical market is represented by temperature sensitive products; and nearly 100 per cent of all vaccines and 68 per cent of all products sold by biotech companies have to be stored and transported between +2ºC and +8ºC.

The transportation of healthcare and life-saving goods is governed by IATA’s Time and Temperature Task Force (TTTF). Mandated to develop and maintain standards for the procedures, documentation, cargo handling, packaging and acceptance of goods from the health care sector in order to facilitate, improve or maintain the logistics, the TTTF acts as the liaison with all stakeholders from the health care industry or their intermediaries. TTTF members include pharmaceutical industry companies, forwarders, airlines and temperature-controlled container manufacturers.

A growing focus by carriers
On their part, air carriers, forwarders and container manufacturers are keen to develop a wide variety of new products and services that would facilitate transportation. Said Emirates’ Menen: “Our perishable business has been quite steady even during the recessionary period and post recession is on the growth path. We carried good loads of fruit and vegetables and pharma throughout 2009.”

Emirates, for example, offers special cool chain solutions that are designed for the movement of temperature-sensitive goods. The airline also offers speciallydesigned temperature-controlled air cargo containers that maintain stable interior temperatures throughout the journey. These feature active temperature control systems that range from -20C to +20C. In addition, Emirates SkyCargo joined hands with a US research institute to develop a low-cost, light weight, breathable and reusable protective ‘White Cover’ designed to shield temperaturesensitive shipments from heat during airport-to-airport transportation.

Similarly, American Airlines has teamed up with Envirotainer to develop an active temperature-controlled air transportation solutions including the RKN e1 unit, which is the latest. The RKN e1 has been designed in collaboration with ThermoKing for requirements of the life sciences industry capable of maintaining temperatures in the +2 to 8 °C range, as well as in room temperature.

FedEx Custom Critical also uses the Envirotainer technologies. Continental Airlines also has an agreement with CSafe, a maker of active cooling units that recently received the licenses from the FAA for its technology. CSafe’s compressor-based units have both cooling and heating capabilities and can sustain consistent interior temperatures in ambient extremes from –30 to +50 degrees Celsius.

On the other side of the spectrum are other perishable items like flowers, fruits fish and meat products and vegetables. All require the same “cool’ treatment and are big business. Carriers like Emirates go through an intricate process that boosts the life of perishable commodities by ‘preserving the cool chain’ throughout the journey. Even so, most carriers maintained that respective governments could help by facilitating the necessary infrastructure at airports in the form of temperature-controlled facilities required to clear and store such cargo. To top it all, custom authorities could also assist in facilitating movement of such ULDs into and out of the bonded facility so that cool chain integrity could be maintained during the entire supply chain.