Glyn Hughes With TIACA

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Lee Kantor here another episode of South Florida Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Diaz Trade Law, your customs expert today on South Florida Business Radio, we have Glen Hughes with TIACA. Welcome.

Glyn Hughes: [00:00:32] Thank you, Lee. It’s a pleasure to be speaking with you today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:34] Well, I am so excited to learn about your organization. Tell us a little bit about TIACA. How are you serving folks?

Glyn Hughes: [00:00:40] Well, what we’re doing in TIACA, let me just explain what the acronym stands for. It’s The International Air Cargo Association, and we are a global association based in South Florida, in fact, based at Miami International Airport. And we represent the entire logistics supply chain that deals with air cargo. Most people, when they see an airplane fly, they think of the people sitting on that plane flying to their holidays to see family. But what they don’t possibly realize is that what’s also flying on that plane could be millions of dollars worth of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, cell phones, computers. Almost anything that we use in our daily lives is going to be flying on an airplane at some point.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:20] So when a regular person is flying, you know, to a city for vacation in the cargo hold, there might be commercial products also on board as well.

Glyn Hughes: [00:01:30] Absolutely. Yeah. And in fact, from a from a global value perspective, global trade is roughly about $18 trillion, about a third of that, in fact, slightly more than a third, about over six and one half, nearly $7 trillion worth flies on airplanes. Some of that flies on dedicated cargo airplanes that you see the likes of FedEx and UPS operating, but also the American Airlines, Delta, United, they’ve all got very large cargo divisions which are carrying billions of dollars worth of cargo in their what we call them, their bellies. So it’s literally underneath the passenger seat, an incredibly valuable part of the global economy, the US economy and also the Floridian economy.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:12] This to me is another example of how logistics and supply chain are like invisible to kind of regular people and they’re so vital to the communities they serve. Can you talk about kind of how this association came about? Like what was the was this has this been around since the beginning of air travel and air, the use of airplanes?

Glyn Hughes: [00:02:34] Well, I’ve been around in aviation for quite a long time. People often say, did I know the Wright brothers when they were in Kitty Hawk? I haven’t been around that long. But it’s it’s it’s nearly 40 years that I’ve been involved in in aviation, and T.A. has been around even longer than that. It it really sprung up because very much associated what you said a moment ago, really, about the fact that everyday folks aren’t always aware of of what logistics does because it operates behind the scenes. People see it when the guy knocks on the door and gives them their parcel that they’ve ordered on Amazon, but they don’t necessarily associate everything that happened prior to that parcel coming to their door. And so when it comes to lobbying governments, working with airports, working with regulators, working with manufacturers about the need for industry efficiency, for solutions and standards that can actually work to pick up a piece of cargo. The other side of the world and basically fly it in the safe, same condition of which it originally entered the supply chain requires a global voice. And this is really what TR does, is it brings together members. Our members are airports, airlines, ground handlers, trucking companies, all sorts of people associated with logistics. And then we can represent them collectively and try and ensure that the industry is is safe, effective and efficient.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] Can you talk a little bit about because this to me is fascinating in terms of there are so many moving parts literally and there are so many different ways to move, you know, cargo from one place to place. So, you know, you have ships, you have trains, you have, you know, trucks, and now you have air. How do you all play together? How does how do you kind of keep track of a of a box from point A to the endpoint of the consumer? Like, it seems so complex. There are so many, you know, variables that you have to deal with.

Glyn Hughes: [00:04:32] Exactly. A great question because, of course, again, we associate ourselves as passengers. If we want to move to go on vacation, we effectively get ourselves from our house to the airport, whether or not we use public transport, taxi, our own vehicle or whatever. We then walk through the airport, we walk onto the plane, we get off the plane, we then somehow get ourselves to the destination hotel or people were visiting. But if you’re a piece of cargo that can’t walk or talk, you’re going to need to rely on something to make sure that those boxes, crates, cartons, whatever, get to where they need to go. So we have to use advanced technology. Sometimes some of the cargo, which is extremely precious, if you think, for example, COVID vaccine, COVID vaccine has basically been flying on airplanes for about 190 countries. Much of that vaccine has to be maintained in precise temperature conditions, flying sometimes to very hot environments, some environments which don’t necessarily have a strong infrastructure. So we can use data sensors that travel with the cargo, that can transmit information, that can record the temperature that the cargo was moving in. For secure goods, if you’re moving gold bars, diamonds, other things of value, you want to make sure that there’s no tampering. So we use a lot of digital connectivity to exchange information so that people on the supply chain knows what’s coming. We can then communicate with customs and other regulators to ensure that the cargo is cleared and is approved to go into a particular country or acceptable to export. And then, of course, as I say, we monitor the condition throughout throughout the journey. So it’s a combination of using high tech and great procedures and a lot of very dedicated men and women who work pretty, pretty solidly during some very tough conditions to make sure the precious cargo moves when it needs to be moved to where it needs to be moved to.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:27] Now with the kind of the acceleration of technology and things like blockchain and how does that play into all of this? Because in some ways, some industries are slow to move and lean into technologies and others are faster. Where do you see kind of logistics and supply chain when it comes to leaning on newer technologies to solve some of these complex problems?

Glyn Hughes: [00:06:54] Yeah, I would actually say that that historically we were probably a little bit slower than what one would have considered the norm or the accepted standard. But it has to be said that during COVID, when most of the world was kind of shuttering in place at home, etc., the logistics industry was working 24 seven, moving PPE around, and then moving vaccine and moving other medical things around. And then digitalized solutions really accelerated in terms of adoption because the information, even simple things in the early days of COVID, people didn’t want to hand over pieces of paper because they weren’t sure where was that piece of paper safe. So transferring digital information was a way of cutting down on that human to human interaction. Then it was a way of accelerating information flow. So the airports were aware of what was coming towards them so they could prepare in advance rather than wait to see and then react. So it was a way of making the system more efficient. Customs and other regulatory agencies say, Well, you know what, we would like to get information electronically so we can make sure it’s safe to fly. So there’s a lot of countries now in the US was one of the first in this area where you submit electronic information before the shipments are moved so that the regulators can actually assess and say, yep, I’m happy for that to enter my country. So I would say that, you know, the latest adoption of technology has really accelerated in the last couple of years throughout the logistics and air cargo space, and we expect that to continue.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:25] Now, how do you feel that South Florida is doing when it comes to its role in the United States logistics? Is it something that the airport is is kind of rocking and rolling or is it something that, hey, you know what, in a perfect world, you wish there was more of this or that?

Glyn Hughes: [00:08:46] Well, and I first of all, have to say, despite my accent, I actually grew up in south Florida. So I’m a kindred spirit.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:53] It sounded like a Kendall accent.

Glyn Hughes: [00:08:57] Well, I grew up in West Palm and then in the latter years lived just north of Fort Lauderdale. Now I’m based in Europe, but our association is based in Miami. And I say this with with no doubt whatsoever that anybody is going to contradict me, that Miami International Airport is without doubt one of the world’s leading airports when it comes to air cargo. In fact, it’s the second. In fact, I think it’s the largest airport in the US for international cargo movements. If you look at domestic, you’ve obviously got FedEx and UPS at Louisville and Memphis who move more domestic cargo. But MIA is the largest international cargo airport in the US. It is the gateway to Latin America. You couldn’t you just couldn’t imagine how many flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables actually come through the airport. The conditions at which they store them and move them is exceptional. And just from a number perspective, and this one is actually I look this up earlier and it’s quite staggering when you think of the size of Miami Airport versus the rest of the state. 40% of Florida’s trade with the world goes through MIA International Airport by value. So if you think Miami Port, you’ve got a wonderful port there. You’ve got wonderful ports in Jacksonville, you’ve got wonderful other airports Orlando, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, etc.. But the importance of MIA internationally for air cargo is tremendous. And as I say, 40% by dollar value in terms of Florida’s trade with the rest of the world is pretty, pretty exceptional.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:30] Well, let’s talk a little bit about. Like a day in the life of your association. How do its members kind of participate? Who is the ideal member? And, you know, what is some of the benefits of being part of the organization?

Glyn Hughes: [00:10:46] And a great question. First of all, who is a member? Anybody that is associated with logistics. So, you know, it can be somebody that just owns one van and they they do a delivery round. Or it could be an airline that has 400 aircraft. It could be airports. It could be, as I say, trucking companies, grain handlers, technology providers. Anybody that’s involved in this great industry is welcome to join the family. What we then do and and our role has to be pretty fluid. During COVID, for example, when people were trying to move things around the world, we were instrumental in making sure that closed airspace in certain countries were open so that the cargo coming in could land safely and help to distribute and save lives of the citizens of those countries. And also bringing in, as I say, important things like food when it comes to humanitarian situations. We work very closely with a lot of agencies like UNICEF and others to make sure that we can help where there are disaster recovery situations and that the access they need to capacity, we can we can match with people who own that capacity. And those are kind of urgent type of reactions.

Glyn Hughes: [00:11:54] But then on a more day to day basis, we work with the entire industry looking ahead, how we can tackle, excuse me, some collective challenges like right now. The sustainability question is one that’s huge. And for us, sustainability is not really just the environment. It’s about looking after the planet, looking after the people, and helping global prosperity. And when it comes to things like recruitment, you know, this industry is is is a growing industry and it needs to attract and retain and develop a lot of young talent, as well as return to workers. And we need to make sure that the workforce out there is is aware that this great industry is there and the benefits that it can bring to global society and to local society. So we have a lot of roles or a lot of activities about industry promotion, working with universities. We’re putting on a big trade show later on this year actually in Miami. So we do a lot of outreach and do a lot of white papers and whatever we can do to help the industry grow because this industry is supporting effectively the global community.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:01] Yeah, I think when you especially when you talk about next generation workforce, it’s it’s just not on the radar of young people. I think, you know, when when kids are playing, they’re not like, I’m going to be the supply chain person, you know, like I’m going to be in logistics. You know, that’s not a role or a career that it’s top of mind. And I think it’s so crucial. I think there has to be a lot of coordination between public and private and and especially the universities to develop curriculum that is going to help solve that workforce challenge that, you know, as more and more things and people move logistics plays a bigger and bigger role.

Glyn Hughes: [00:13:41] Absolutely. I mean, that is incredibly well said, Lee. And if you don’t mind, I’m probably going to quote you going forward, because that was really eloquently put. I mean, a lot of people just think when they say logistics, they think are delivery driver. Well, that’s that’s one part that’s an important part. But this industry also has huge investments about autonomous vehicles. If people like playing with drones in their private life, come and work in this industry and develop drones that can fly in the Canadian frozen outback or into the Brazilian Amazon rainforest or throughout Florida, doing drop offs, doing humanitarian drops in in Africa, we’ve got advanced robotics. There’s people designing the next generation of technology, even things like social media and modern communication platforms, solution designing. I mean, this industry is so diverse, fleet planning, equipment purchasing. I mean, these modern aircraft are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. So people are actually applying incredibly, I would say, well considered strategic plans for how to make the aviation economics work. And just the idea of moving something. Let’s take wildlife, for example, conservation programs. If people really want to focus on how they can support cons of conservation, not conversation, but conservation programs for wildlife. Air cargo is at the forefront of this. It helps in breeding programs, but to move delicate wildlife again from one side of the planet to the other requires incredible precision planning and animal welfare. So these are all really intensely important and valuable roles that this industry can offer people.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:22] Yeah, I think that there just has to be a more awareness for young people to see kind of that side of it. Because it is. Leveraging bleeding edge technology to really make a huge impact in whatever area that they’d like to make that impact in. Like you mentioned, wildlife conservation, you know, play with drones and robots. I mean, it’s not your grandfather’s supply chain or logistics where there’s, you know, people in warehouses lifting boxes and stuff, like more and more of that is becoming automated and robots are doing that kind of work. And you need this brainpower to really kind of take this another step forward.

Glyn Hughes: [00:16:02] Absolutely. And again, you know, you hit the nail on the head when you said it’s not about just the boxes, it’s not about moving one box from A to B. This industry is actually focusing on the value that’s inside that box. And if you gain if you want to picture people giving over engagement rings, wedding rings, flowers on on Mother’s Day, flowers on Valentine’s Day, all these are activities which we take for granted. But if it wasn’t for our cargo, they wouldn’t be possible. And these are the powerful images that we need to instill in that next generation, because they can truly make an impact on their local community, as I say, and the global community. And in fact, we’re going to be holding this event in Miami in November. And we’ve dedicated the third day of our event to what we call Careers Day. And we hope that any university or high school or even just individuals that are vaguely interested in this area to kind of come along to the Miami Beach Convention Center. It’s a free event. We’re going to have about 5000 people attending with 200 different exhibitors and conference program and world class speakers. And it’s it’s free for people to come along and introduce themselves and just kind of hopefully go away with an aircraft model or two and and hopefully a vision and a dream of how they can impact this industry in a positive way.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:20] Well, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you. If somebody wants to learn more about that air cargo forum that’s coming up in November or any of the other events that you have going on throughout the year or become a member, what is the website? What is the best way to get a hold of you or somebody on your team?

Glyn Hughes: [00:17:38] Right. That’s a great question. The best way is to go on to our website. It’s T aka dot org. So t a c a dot org. The event, as I say, in Miami Beach Convention Center is November 8 to 10, the 10th. It’s the Thursday is the day we’re opening up for Careers Day. And we’re also going to have some giveaways for students and and raffle off some iPads and other equipment, etc., as is we. We know how to hopefully keep their attention going. Anything related to technology, they’re the front of all of that. So we hope we can help them as well with some latest tech.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:10] And that’s IAC a dot org. Glenn, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Glyn Hughes: [00:18:19] Thank you very much, Lee. I really appreciate giving us the opportunity to speak to your great audience.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:23] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will sail next time on South Florida Business Radio.