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On 26 September, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's number one container shipping company, announced that it will launch an air cargo company, MSC Air Cargo, in partnership with freighter operator Atlas Air next year as a complementary service to its container shipping solutions, thus enabling service capabilities to be Diversification.

MSC Air Cargo has reportedly been in development for several months and plans to offer services in early 2023. "This is our first step into this market and we plan to continue to explore ways to grow air cargo to complement our core container shipping business," said Soren Toft, CEO of MSC, to the public. "

Atlas Air will allocate the four 777-200 freighters ordered from Boeing in January this year to the MSC Air Cargo venture. 777-200 is a large twin-engine jet aircraft capable of transporting payloads of up to 116 tonnes on long intercontinental journeys.

The first aircraft is reportedly scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year, with the remainder to be received in 2023. One of the aircraft will be operated by Atlas Air.

John Dietrich, President and CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, said:- "We are delighted to have MSC as our new customer and look forward to supporting MSC in growing its airfreight business and further enhancing its position as a global leader in transportation and logistics."

In addition, MSC has appointed Jannie Davel to form the team and take responsibility for the related airfreight operations.

Jannie Davel is understood to have nearly 30 years' experience in the air cargo sector, having held senior executive positions in the air freight divisions of Delta Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo and DHL.

In January this year, the industry has reported MSC and Lufthansa joint bid for Alitalia, and now the move to set up a cargo airline means that MSC has officially joined the ranks of rivals Maersk and CMA CGM, the world's three largest container shipping giants have all entered the air cargo sector.

In recent years, the container shipping market is facing a new round of challenges, and customer demand for supply chain services is increasingly diversified and flexible, which has been the core of the container transport shipping companies, began to enhance the integrated logistics and transport services capabilities.

In 2020, CMA CGM offers a new way to play. Through the acquisition of CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM set up a dedicated all-cargo airline, CMA CGM AIR CARGO. air cargo straddles the challenge of port congestion and avoids supply chain disruptions.

The development of shipping has become a new logistics strategy for CMA CGM.

Currently, CMA CGM has one of the largest contract logistics providers, Ceva Logistics, and five Airbus A330 wide-body passenger aircraft, and has also ordered four 777 freighters from Boeing. In November last year, CMA CGM ordered four A350 superjumbos from Airbus and, in May, formed a cargo alliance with Air France-KLM.

The Maersk Group is not far behind. Having previously been a contracted partner to courier companies such as United Parcel and Royal Mail, Maersk has since reorganised its operations into Maersk Air Cargo to focus on providing air cargo services to its customers.

In April 2020, Maersk Group spent US$644 million to complete the acquisition of Senator International, a German freight forwarder engaged in airfreight, to create Maersk Cargo. according to FreightWaves, Maersk Air Cargo has been aggressively entering the US market, purchasing three new 767- 300 freighters from Boeing and transferring them to Amerijet to operate between Asia and the US on its behalf, as well as ordering two 777 long-haul freighters from Boeing.

Unlike MSC Air Cargo and CMA CGM Air Cargo, Maersk is a pure airline with its own Air Operator's Certificate, pilots and mechanics and owns most of its aircraft.

Aymeric Chandavoine, Maersk's Head of Global Logistics and Services, has said: "Air freight is a key enabler of flexibility and agility in the global supply chain, helping shippers to meet supply chain challenges and providing diverse transportation options for high-value cargo. To this end, Maersk has established Maersk Air Cargo to better meet the needs of its customers while improving its position in the global air cargo market."

The world's top three container shipping companies have now all entered the air freight sector. The shift to the global air cargo market has become the next track for shipping companies to compete.