Background: An Urgent Machinery Import with No Room for Delay

A long-standing Aerona customer, a UK-based business employing over 200 people within the dairy and milk processing industry, urgently required the import of two industrial homogenisers from China.

These specialist machines were essential to the customer’s production operations, which ran across three shifts. Any significant delay in receiving the equipment risked disrupting operational efficiency and affecting production schedules.

The shipment consisted of approximately 5,400 kg of heavy industrial machinery, requiring careful coordination, international airfreight planning and onward transportation to the customer’s UK facility.

The customer’s requirements were straightforward but challenging:

• Secure the fastest possible international airfreight solution.
• Deliver the machinery within a very tight timeframe.
• Keep transportation costs within a restricted project budget.
• Manage the shipment despite severe international airfreight capacity shortages.

Aerona was tasked with delivering a solution that balanced speed, cost and reliability in an increasingly volatile global airfreight market.

The Challenge: Rising Airfreight Costs and Severe Space Restrictions

The shipment coincided with a particularly challenging period for the international airfreight industry.

Available cargo capacity from China to the UK was extremely limited, with demand significantly exceeding available aircraft space. Rates were changing almost daily, and securing sufficient capacity for a 5,400 kg shipment was becoming increasingly difficult.

To put the commercial challenge into perspective, the available airfreight rate increased from:

• Friday: USD 3.50 per kg
• Monday: USD 5.08 per kg

This represented an increase of approximately 45% over one weekend.

For a shipment weighing 5,400 kg, this equated to a potential increase in the airfreight cost of approximately USD 8,532, before considering any additional charges.

With the customer’s budget already under pressure, simply accepting the higher market rate was not an attractive option.

Aerona needed to think beyond the conventional China-to-UK airfreight routing.

The challenge was not simply finding an airline with available space. It was about finding an alternative logistics solution that could deliver the machinery on time without exposing the customer to unnecessary transportation costs.

The Aerona Solution: Thinking Beyond Conventional Airfreight Routes

Understanding both the urgency of the project and the customer’s strict budget requirements, Aerona immediately engaged its established overseas partners in China to investigate alternative routing possibilities.

Rather than concentrating solely on direct airfreight services into the UK, the team explored alternative European gateway airports where:

• Airfreight capacity was more readily available.
• Freight rates were more competitive.
• The shipment could be accommodated without excessive waiting times.
• Reliable onward transportation into the UK could be arranged.

This alternative routing strategy identified a more commercially attractive solution.

Aerona coordinated the movement of the heavy machinery by airfreight from China to a nominated European destination, taking advantage of better available capacity and more favourable freight rates.

Once the shipment arrived, Aerona arranged the onward transportation into the UK, coordinating the different stages of the movement to ensure the machinery reached the customer’s facility within the required timeframe.

This required careful planning, communication between international partners and close management of the entire transport chain.

The Result: Successful Delivery Within 48 Hours

Through proactive planning, international coordination and an alternative routing strategy, Aerona successfully delivered the project.

The machinery was transported to the nominated European gateway and subsequently moved onwards to the customer’s UK facility.

The equipment arrived within 48 hours of reaching the nominated European destination, meeting the customer’s deadline and avoiding the need to rely on more expensive and difficult-to-secure direct UK airfreight capacity.

The solution demonstrated how a flexible approach to international freight forwarding can overcome even the most challenging market conditions.

Key Project Outcomes

• 5,400 kg: Heavy industrial machinery successfully transported.
• Two homogenisers: Critical dairy processing equipment imported from China.
• 45%: Potential increase in direct airfreight rates over one weekend.
• 48 hours: Onward delivery timeframe from the nominated European destination.
• Alternative European routing: Improved access to available airfreight capacity.
• Budget-conscious logistics: An alternative solution designed to avoid unnecessary freight expenditure.