Fact Sheet: e-freight and the e-Air Waybill (e-AWB)

Definition

e-freight is an industry-wide program that aims to  build a paperless, end-to-end  transportation process for air cargo. It involves the entire air cargo supply chain.

The e-freight project includes the following three pillars:

• Building a network of locations and airports where it is possible to remove paper from the transportation of air cargo from a legal environment and e-Customs procedure standpoint
• Digitizing and removing the key air cargo transportation documents used today, starting with the digitization of the Air Waybill (AWB), the most important transportation document in air cargo. The electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB) replaces the paper AWB with an electronic contract of carriage between the freight forwarder and the carrier
• Digitizing the key accompanying documents typically transported with air cargo shipments (i.e. removal of the air cargo ‘document pouches’)

Targets

The objective is to have 100% e-freight by the end of 2015

• The e-freight vision is supported by the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG), whose members are IATA, The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF)

Key focus for 2013

• IATA’s target is to implement successful pilot projects in two BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), identifying the benefits for the country and all industry stakeholders
• The e-AWB as the initial step towards 100% e-freight (20% e-AWB penetration on feasible lanes by the end of 2013)   
• Identification of an overall roadmap for the other key documents, supported by the industry and endorsed by GACAG

Benefits

• Industry cost savings of up to $4.9 billion annually when fully implemented
• Speed: reduction in transfer time by 24 hours 
• Accuracy: electronic documents eliminate manual entry errors 
• Regulatory compliance: meets all international and local regulations required by customs, civil aviation and other regulatory authorities
• Sustainability: e-freight will eliminate more than 7,800 tonnes of paper documents, the equivalent of 80 Boeing 747 freighters filled with paper

Status

• e-AWB penetration on feasible lanes: 5.42% in September 2012
• 18 airlines were live with e-AWB as of October 2012. Four airlines are achieving a penetration of e-AWB shipments of above 80% in their home market 
• A draft multilateral e-AWB agreement has been agreed by the industry, which is being implemented as part of a proof of concept from December 2012. The multilateral e-AWB agreement simplifies the legal side of e-AWB. This agreement is expected to become effective for the industry earliest mid-2013. In the meantime, parties are encouraged to continue signing bilateral agreements as specified in the Recommended Practice 1670.
• A vendor community has been established to support the e-freight vision, pilots, and e-messaging quality measurement
• The current e-freight network covers over 33% of worldwide markets
• Local programs have been set in two of the BRIC locations (Russia and China)

Updated: December 2012