In the first two months of the year, LATAM Cargo Brazil recorded a growth of 6% in domestic transportation and an increase of 2.3 percentage points in its market share compared to the same period last year. In addition, one of its main routes, Guarulhos – Manaus, had an increase of five percentage points.
Given this scenario, the company announced that from March 2017 will increase its aircraft capacity to meet the growth in demand in the Manaus – Guarulhos – Manaus stretch. The announcement was made in the 23rd edition of the Intermodal Fair, held between April 4 and 6 in Sao Paulo
Currently, the route is operated on Airbus 320 airplanes with capacity for 2.5 tons, which will be replaced by Boeing 777 and 767 airplanes, with capacity to carry up to 30 tons. These flights are joined by a daily cargo flight and another which is operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The growth is already reflected in the area of Manaus, which anticipates the recovery of demand in the other regions of the country. According to Mr. Luis Quintiliano, Executive Director of LATAM Cargo Brazil, “for us, Manaus is a thermometer of what will happen in the country. That was the first region that showed a recession when the economy slowed down and is now anticipating a recovery”.
On the other hand, the market of the Amazonian capital showed a growth of 10% in February 2017, compared to the previous month. The recovery in the cargo movement had an impact in the terminals of Belem and Fortaleza, increasing both by 20%. “This shows that we were right in continuing to invest in our operation in times of crisis, to be prepared for the recovery of the market”, emphasizes Mr. Quintiliano.
Since 2013, the company has invested R$ 94 million in a business plan that involves the reform and construction of new terminals, as well as increased security and technology. For this year the inauguration of the Curitiba terminals are planned, with investments of R$ 2.6 million, Belo Horizonte, with an investment of R$ 500 thousand, and Emperatriz, with an investment of R$ 390 thousand.
Perishable and Door to Door
During the Intermodal Fair, the company announced that its investments also aim to develop products in line with growth in demand: PERISHABLE and “Door to Door”.
PERISHABLE, aimed to the international market, offers specialized care in the transport of perishable products with special equipment, such as thermal blankets, besides reduced time of delivery, temperature adjustment in the airplanes, among other benefits. Approximately 40% of the volume transported by LATAM Cargo in the last years corresponds to perishable.
“With PERISHABLE, customers have at their disposal a product with a high level of reliability format, which ensures the delivery of fresh, high quality products”, emphasizes Mr. Quintiliano.
For the implementation of the product, the company adopted improvements in systems, processes and operational procedures, as well as in the training of specialized teams. The estimate is that the product can generate a growth of 5% in the transport of perishables in 2017.
Another service the company is betting on, in the Brazilian market, is door-to-door, a goods delivery system monitored through tracker by satellite from applications installed on the mobile phones of the drivers responsible for the deliveries. Adopted in October 2015, door-to-door meant an investment of R$ 140 thousand and currently carries out about 180 thousand deliveries and collections per month throughout Brazil, having as a good part of its portfolio e-commerce customers.
In total, there are more than three thousand cities served throughout the country, among which São Paulo reaches 60%. Currently, the company has more than 280 vehicles throughout Brazil for door-to-door delivery, including cars and motorcycles.