3D Printing Impact on Air Cargo
A review of an International Air Cargo Association 3D printing threat assessment
Hua, Li
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Student
LGMT 636 Transportation Management
William (Bill) Christensen, Ph. D.
February 13, 2022
For any industry to survive, it must be aware that the innovation never stops. The strengths that allowed one industry to gain market dominance might be completely upended by a revolutionary technology. Many examples of this have been witnessed in recent history, one recent example is blockbuster being overcome by Netflix and its introduction of movie mailing followed by digital streaming.
One industry well aware of such threats is the air cargo industry. The article “Waking up to the threat from a 3D revolution” serves its purpose of being an eye catchy and ahead of its time (TIACA, 2014). Even today it should make the major and national air cargo companies contemplate how to prevent being cut out of their supply chain roles supporting “just in time” deliveries.
To understand the scope of the threat, first there must be an assessment of what shipments might be disrupted. Broadly airlines currently transport low volume high price items, mail, clothing, communication products, very perishable organic matter, aviation components and finished vehicles and passengers (Novack et al., 2019). The key here being that for air cargo delivery to be financially appealing, there must be a sense of urgency which would necessitate paying for “emergency shipments” (Novack et al., 2019).
The TIACA article focuses on three main arguments paving the road for additive manufacturing dominance: Labor is getting more expensive in places like China, 3D printing cuts out many middle men, and even aircraft speeds can’t match truly “just in time” delivery (TIACA, 2014).
What the paper does well is that is picks one industry, perishable food items like fruits. What the paper doesn’t take into account is the revolutionary development of another field of technology. Genetically modified fruits and vegetables which last much longer in storage (Baranski, 2019). Additionally, new technologies have emerged such as improved packaging laced with antimicrobial compounds which keep perishable items like tomatoes storable for longer periods of times (Vanitha, 2019). This means that the food can be grown, stored longer into periods of off-season and then shipped by planes. The overhead required for printing machines would mean that in many emerging markets air cargo would retain pricing dominance for years to come.
The cost of labor drives the price up for goods which is true, but this article was written in a time when the US looked to China as its one-stop shop for all its manufacturing needs. The trade war between US and China has proven that the world has other hubs for cheap labor such as Vietnam and Indonesia (Aba, 2021). Many airlines still serve air cargo transport to these countries, so that labor impact on goods has yet to run its course as the article foresaw.
Cutting out multiple sections of the supply chain was solid insight by the article. General Electric has begun building high value low volume aeronautic components (GE, n.d.). If airlines seek to recapture some lost ground to additive manufacturing, they may want to consider a few options. One option is building components on site near their hubs on a contract basis and then delivering it to customers that don’t want to deal with storage space (TIACA, 2014).
Another angle which could have been recommended is to specialize in storage and delivery of perishable 3D inks such as Bio-Inks and other 3D inks which may emerge (Wei et al. 2022). Air cargo companies may find they can retain much of their emergency shipment capacity, this time transporting perishable 3D inks.
Works Cited
Aba, F. X. L. (2021). Institutional change and macroeconomic variables in the ASEAN—Indonesia, vietnam, and cambodia: The effects of a trade war between china and USA. Economies, 9(4), 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040195
Baranski, R., Klimek-Chodacka, M., & Lukasiewicz, A. (2019). Approved genetically modified (GM) horticultural plants: A 25-year perspective. Folia Horticulturae, 31(1), 3-49. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.2478/fhort-2019-0001
GE. (n.d.). Take your company where it hasn’t gone before- with metal additive. General Electric. https://www.ge.com/additive/
Novack, R. A., Suzuki, Y., Gibson, B. J., Coyle, J. J. (2019). Transportation: A Global Supply Chain Perspective. Cengage
TIACA Times. (2014). Waking up to the threat from a 3D Revolution. The magazine of the International Air Cargo Association. 18-19.
Vanitha, T., Thammawong, M., Umehara, H., Nakamura, N., & Shiina, T. (2019). Effect of hinokitiol impregnated sheets on shelf life and quality of “KEK‐1” tomatoes during storage. Packaging Technology & Science, 32(12), 641-648. https://doi.org/10.1002/pts.2479
Yang, W., Tu, A., Ma, Y., Li, Z., Xu, J., Lin, M., Zhang, K., Jing, L., Fu, C., Jiao, Y., & Huang, L. (2021;2022;). Chitosan and whey protein bio-inks for 3D and 4D printing applications with particular focus on food industry. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(1), 173. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27010173
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