Forwarders get "conflicting messages" in Integres talks
Air forwarders received “some conflicting messages” from officials at American Airlines and United Airlines regarding the carriers’ relationship with Integres, a newly-formed air forwarding joint venture, and whether the carriers would give preference to the new company.
United is a lead investor in Integres, and its former vice president of cargo, Jim Hartigan, is president and chief executive of the venture, which plans to begin operating in the third quarter of this year. American does not have an equity stake in Integres, but has pledged to provide capacity at competitive rates.
Members of the Airforwarders Association said they held “good discussions” earlier this week with representatives of Integres, UAL and AA, according to David Wirsing, executive director of the association.
“Integres appears to be a new entrant into the freight forwarding business, so we say ‘welcome aboard,'” Wirsing said Wednesday. “We don’t have any qualms about that. Our concern focuses on Integres’s relations with American and United. We received some conflicting messages from them.”
Wirsing did not elaborate. But forwarders are fearful that United and American will shift forwarding business to Integres.
Wirsing will issue a report on the meetings to members of the association later today. The Washington-based association held a regularly scheduled board meeting Tuesday, preceded by a special meeting Monday afternoon with Steve Ritchie, vice president of sales for Integres. It also conducted separate conference calls on Monday with Mark Najarian, vice president of sales and marketing for American, and Marianne Daidone, United’s general manager of cargo.
Ritchie, who traveled from Integres headquarters in Rancho Cordova, Calif., to meet with the forwarders in Indianapolis, said the forwarders were “polite and cordial,” but added “I’m not sure we’ve made converts of any of them.”
Najarian said the forwarders asked “a lot of insightful questions. We left on very good terms.”
Daidone met via conference call, but added that she wished she been able to with them in person. “It’s hard to gauge (reactions) when you don’t see people,” she said, adding, “It never got ugly.”
Daidone acknowledged that forwarders will probably want to wait and see how United performs. “We have to prove that we are absolutely committed to our forwarder distribution channel and to improving our service,” she said.
Also participating in the conference call from United’s cargo division were Mark Haeussler, the director of e-commerce and new ventures; Pat Kehoe, national accounts manager, and Mark Joseph, its marketing manager.
Besides Integres’s relationship with American and United, some forwarders are also concerned about its selection of UTi Worldwide, a logistics company based in Rancho Dominguez, Calif., as its international forwarder.
Najarian said the furor created by the Integres announcement one week ago has obscured investments it is making for the forwarder community, such as its participation in Global Freight Exchange, an online marketplace, and its customer service centers in Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.
