Talkin' Trucks With Mike:A History of the TNT Companies

Thank you to share this interesting video. The scene beginning at 2 minutes 24 showing the night operation at the TNT Cologne hub with the Beethoven 9th symphony in background is
very sharp.

There is an interesting story behind those jet freighters. When the European TNT International Aviation Services division was established in 1987, as an Australian company TNT was prohibited from owning or operating it's own freight airline in Europe. So TNT upper management in Sydney with their `` we will do it `` mindset, decided to bypass the regulation by designing a hybrid company model which used TNT IPEC as an air freight forwarder with no assets, the new established TIAS division as an aircraft leaser, fleet manager and coordinator as well as a group of contract carriers, to which TIAS sub-leased aircraft in TNT colors. Those contract carriers operated exclusively on behalf of the TNT IPEC Air Express network. TIAS was the central point to insure a total integration of all the parties involved in the network operation to be sure that the customer perceived the TNT IPEC Air Express network as a totally integrated operation.

TIAS managed and coordinated a fleet of 16 BAE 146 jet freighters operated by seven small contract airlines spread to six countries.

 

The package side of Home Delivery Service has never took off and was limited to the Metropolitain Toronto market for a short period of time. However, a twin division named Delivery Services Inc. have had a lot more success delivering appliances and furnitures to customers homes.







The main customers in Canada was SEARS and EATON stores. The division operated similar contracts on behalf of SEARS in 23 US metropolitain markets. TNT operated also `` white gloves `` home delivery services in Great-Britain.

 

In front of your great interest in CF as well as in TNT, I thought it could be a good idea to compare the two carriers through the numbers. Here the result :

(CF)

REVENUE : $4.2 billion
by geographical sector : domestic : 86% overseas : 14%

by activity : general freight : 67% air freight : 32% comprising heavy freight (20%)
express freight (12%)

PEOPLE : 41,300

SHAREHOLDERS : 14.000

EQUIPMENTS :
vehicles : 56,300 (include trucks, tractors & trailers)

road/rail containers : 900

aircraft : 106

(TNT)

REVENUE : $4.5 billion
by geographical sector: domestic: 55% overseas : 45%

by activity : general freight : 27% comprising specialized services**
express freight (air & road) : 33%
air passenger transport : 36%
sea shipping : 4%

PEOPLE : 70,000

SHAREHOLDERS : 31,000

EQUIPMENTS :
vehicles : over 43,000 (include trucks, tractors & trailers)

road/rail containers : over 4,000

sea containers : over 46,000***

ships : 63

aircraft : 200


** (bulk haulage, refrigerated transport, car carrying......etc)

***TNT owned a controling interest in Trans Ocean, a sea container leasing company
located in California.

A Trans Ocean container Source : www.matts-place.com




General observations :

The only partial similarity between the two carriers was the revenue ($4.2 vs $4.5 billion).
However if we include 100% of the revenues coming from the affiliated and associated companies of TNT; then the revenues generated by the Australian group rose to $6.4 billions.

CF was essentially a domestic general freight (LTL) carrier with a significant presence in the air freight sector while TNT was an international highly diversified multimodal carrier conveying freight as well as people.

 

I forgot to tell that tnumbers are related to the year (1990)

 

On the following video you can see TNT dedicated trains (nickame TNT Jet Train) between 25.20 to 27.40 and 28.40 to 31.53 + at the end of the video at 1.47.48 a train with a variety of TNT container types including some showing the `` fake TNT `` livery.




Involvement of TNTin interstate rail operations in Australia date back from 1953 when the company pioneered the system of door to door interstate rail movement through forwarding agents.

First rail terminal in Adelaide (1954)



Through the seventies, TNT rail operations was so huge the Group took the decision to run its own dedicated trains. For the same reason, TNT invested over $4 millions and set up its own gantry cranes on leased property owned by the railways this, in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. With these initiatives, TNT took the total control of its intermodal operations, the railroad companies furnishing only the traction services for an annual rate.

In the mid-eighties, TNT moved over 1.5 million tons/year of freight -- equal to 90,000 truckloads -- by rail. The Group was the biggest customer of the railroad companies over 50% of the genral freight being conveing by rail. TNT operated its own gantry cranes, tractors (owned or supplied by subbies), skeletal trailers and high cube containers.