The world¡¯s largest trade-only air freight wholesaler expects to double its US business in the next two years, in spite of the challenging market conditions.
Peter Weir, senior VP of AMI, told IFW that the US was the ideal target for the company¡¯s model, because it was made up of so many small independent forwarders.
Weir himself is relocating from the UK to Dallas next month to drive the company¡¯s growth in the US market - which last year made up around 16% of AMI¡¯s US$180m turnover.
He said his priorities were to educate US forwarders about the relatively littleknown air freight wholesale concept, and to raise AMI¡¯s profile there following its acquisition of UAC in 2007.
"With a vast consumer base of 304m people and diversified manufacturing industries that rely heavily on air freight, the US is, without doubt, the largest opportunity of all, and should logically become our largest single market, " he said.
"Co-loading or aggregation currently accounts for a small proportion of all US air freight, because there has been a natural historic resistance on the part of US agents to feed traffic to consolidators that are effectively their competitors."
He was confident AMI¡¯s role as a "trade-only" or neutral provider, with a global virtual airline network of 900 destinations, would overcome this resistance.
"UAC was the only true trade-only wholesaler in this market when we bought it, but its limited network and spread of destinations restricted its appeal, " he said.
"Now, as the base of our US business, it has already dramatically expanded its offering both in routes and products.
The time is right to take it to a wider market."
Weir said AMI¡¯s expansion in the US would require some investment, but this would be in marketing itself to customers rather than in acquisitions.
It has already begun expanding organically since buying UAC, with Dallas becoming AMI¡¯s fifth US office when it opened earlier this year.
Alfred
