The Loadstars' Diary: Panels, Politics, and Partywear

Event season is starting again, and there is – as ever – a wide plethora of choices, particularly in the competitive space of air cargo conferences (and by wide plethora, we really mean ‘too many’). Messe Munchen’s stranglehold on events continues – beginning with Air Cargo India, which still appears to have not quite published a full agenda, despite being in just three weeks. Only seven panels have been announced, and the focus on Indian exporters – always the backbone of the event under Stat Times ownership – seems to have disappeared.  The speaker list shows 21 men and three women, a very poor balance for a global conference company with major ambitions in this space. Let’s see if its other events are better. 

By contrast, the Airforwarders Association event, AirCargoConference, has perhaps the best gender balance of any event yet, with 10 women and 17 men. Congratulations, you’ve set the bar at the right height.  It should be a pretty interesting couple of days, given the current challenges in the US – but the question is whether Latin Americans, Asians, and Europeans want to visit the US right now… 

When you work from home, dressing smart isn’t a concern. In fact, the only concern is hiding your PJ bottoms when on a Teams call. But going out to events triggers a whole new set of worries: especially finding something smart to wear without rotating the same outfits each time. Packing for Manifest in Las Vegas has proved particularly difficult… With rapper Taio Cruz performing at the after-party, what’s a happy medium between business-smart and clubbing-ready? 

You start to dread seeing women’s ‘lunch/panel/networking’ on the agenda of a supply chain conference. While these events sometimes celebrate and acknowledge the excellence of the women in this industry, who have built up a successful career despite the multitude of barriers against them, there’s a 50:50 chance that it could also be a patronising cringe-fest that has nothing to do with logistics. The Loadstar will keep you updated on which way the pendulum swings after the ‘Women’s Lunch’ on day three of Manifest. 

Not all graphs are created equal. The analysts in this industry are stellar – constantly providing insightful and rigorous data that make our job as journalists a hell of a lot easier. But trying to decipher some of the maze-like weaving of lines – all in barely distinguishable shades of a singular colour – often proves puzzling. Maybe a degree in English actually isn’t the right training for this job, but is there any chance of sending us a bar or pie chart instead…? 

Following the tragic news about forwarding favourite Hans-Henrik Nielsen, who had recently retired, we have received many nice messages about him, including his work ethic. And now the concern is whether freight industry professionals work too hard? Senior airfreight forwarder Matthias Frey has noted a brush with – if not death – then certainly  thoughts on how to live. Others are contemplating their future. 

But the overall message must be, take care of yourselves, people. Freight maybe fascinating, but there is more to life… 

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