Air Cargo 2020 Brings Together Diverse Freight Interests

Members of the logistics, aviation and motor carrier professions will descend on Music City USA — aka Nashville, Tennessee — in 10 days to hear from key voices in the airfreight industry.

Air Cargo 2020 is more than a conference for airline representatives. It's a collaboration among the Airforwarders Association, the Airport Council International – North America and the Air Expedited Motor Carriers Association — groups that all support, and partner with, airlines.

Among the planned highlights at Air Cargo 2020 is a discussion into how NASA is developing the logistics systems for exploration of the moon and Mars this decade. Mark Wiese, the manager for the Kennedy Space Center's Gateway Logistics program, will talk about the private sector's role in getting payloads into deep space.

Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves, will riff during Tuesday's keynote presentation about the importance of freight technology in increasing safety, speed and efficiency throughout the supply chain.

"Harnessing big data and technology for real-time analytics isn't just critical for trucking, but for all modes in the freight market," Fuller said. Air Cargo 2020 is an opportunity to spread that message and also learn more about the industry as FreightWaves increases the number of airfreight data sets in its SONAR platform and its news coverage of air cargo, he added.

To underscore that emphasis, FreightWaves is bringing its live sound stage to the event to stream interviews and other content on FreightWavesTV.

AfA Executive Director Brandon Fried said there are 707 registered attendees, a pre-event record, with final registration likely to exceed 800. The exhibit has about 90 booths and was sold out a month ago, so organizers have been selling tables outside the hall itself, he said.

Organizers are introducing a two-track curriculum for attendees. One is focused on corporate management and strategic planning. The second parallel track is for compliance professionals and operations staff who interact daily with customers, vendors and regulatory agencies.

Panels will include topics such as how companies are reducing their carbon footprint, how to ensure that all parties in the supply chain follow safe shipping practices for lithium batteries, efficiency initiatives at air cargo terminals and new trucking regulations facing the industry.

Air Cargo 2020 will be held at the Omni Hotel Jan. 26-28.

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