The Schiphol air cargo community is expanding its milk run to include export volumes with the aim of reducing truck movements.
Air Cargo Netherlands said the community service will be rolled out for exports after the summer. The air cargo group said the scheme will help reduce the number of truck movements and therefore shorten waiting times and cut CO2 emissions.
The milk run consolidates export shipments from various handlers to be delivered to various forwarders' warehouses onto a single truck, rather than each forwarder entering the airport to pick up their shipments individually.
The whole process is managed through the Milk Run Export Portal, which allows forwarders to register their freight on a planned milk run journey or offer their freight on the Milk Run Marketplace where a carrier can pickup the order.
"Because Milkrun Export is set up as a community service that everyone contributes to, costs are kept low: €65 per company per month," Air Cargo Netherlands explained.
"For this €65 you can make unlimited use of the Milkrun Export Portal, provided that the agreements are met.
"The freight can be registered in the portal, after which it will be picked up by one of the participating carriers. Even if you are not an active participant, you will benefit from Milkrun Export because the number of truck movements and therefore the waiting times at the handlers will decrease."
The organisation said that forwarders would benefit from a streamlined process to deliver freight, truck firms would benefit from improved load factors and handlers would have fewer truck movements on their forecorts.
The milk run for import shipments has been running since May 2015 with three major forwarders and the first ground handler Menzies Aviation.
https://www.aircargonews.net/cargo-airport/schiphol-milk-run-to-save-co2-emissions/
