E-AWB reach record levels but a long way to go to hit target

Electronic air waybill (e-AWB) penetration reached its highest ever level in May, but the current growth rate is not enough to see it hit the IATA target for 2015.
The latest IATA figures show that in May e-AWB penetration reached 27.9% as 410,720 air waybills were processed electronically.
This is the most e-AWBs that have been processed in a single month and the increased penetration reverses two months of declines.
While the improvement in performance will be welcomed, there is still much to be done if penetration is to reach the IATA target of 45% by the end of the year.
If growth continues at the rate it has since the start of the year, when the figure stood at 24.9%, penetration will reach only 32.1% by the end of December.
To help improve growth, IATA recommended that ground handlers prepare themselves for e-AWBs.
It said: “Ground handlers are urged to work with their airline customers to offer single process, which simplifies the process for freight forwarders, and to offer the fast lane concept to customers.
“Statistics show that offering single process at key e-AWB locations will result in 3 times faster e-AWB growth than those who do not offer single process.”
Meanwhile, at the 4th IATA e-Cargo and Technology Conference held in June, delegates renewed the pledge to drive e-AWB but also identified the urgent need for air cargo to transform the way it manages and shares information.
IATA said: “This means building a new network of interconnected, and interoperable, data platforms to manage core industry processes.
“An evolution has started, however it will require more leadership and collaboration across the entire industry.”