air cargo capacity

Airport congestion blamed for peak season drop in air cargo volume

Sideview of back half of a big jet being loaded with cargo on a sunny day.

Global air cargo volumes paradoxically declined in November amid intense shipping demand during the height of the preholiday peak shipping season, yet freight rates jumped higher and planes were more full. 

Blame the disconnect between a red-hot airfreight market and less cargo moved on extreme congestion at major airports, where a shortage of labor among airline service providers is slowing aircraft loading and unloading as well as freight deconsolidation of imports for pickup.

Analytics firm...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/airport-congestion-blamed-for-peak-season-drop-in-air-cargo-volume

European airlines boost capacity, cargo sales as US reopens to travel

A plastic-wrapped cargo pallet in foreground, with a Lufthansa Cargo jet in the background.

Major trans-Atlantic airlines are reporting full planes Monday as the U.S. reopens its borders to fully vaccinated travelers for the first time since March 2020. The new demand is stimulating airlines to add flights, bringing much-needed cargo space to a tight market for importers and exporters in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and other Christmas sales events.

Extra capacity introduced in recent weeks, along with shipment diversions to avoid ocean freight bottlenecks, helped European...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/european-airlines-boost-capacity-cargo-sales-as-us-reopens-to-travel

Superhot airfreight market leaves shippers in the cold

A Cargolux 747 cargo plane on the tarmac on a bright day with an empty pallet in the foreground.

Importers and exporters should brace for the pandemonium roiling the ocean freight sector — where container shipping delays and prices are at all-time highs — to wash over the air cargo market this month.

Full planes and skyrocketing freight rates are signs the market has tightened to the point that shippers will be hard-pressed to find air transport for their goods as holiday-season shipping enters the stretch run, according to market analysts and logistics specialists. 

Welcome to the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/superhot-airfreight-market-leaves-shippers-in-the-cold

Ocean delays turn desperate retailers to the skies, increasing emissions

Shipping delays are causing ocean to air shifts, raising emissions.

Congestion at ports in the United States as well as Asia is causing major shipping delays and leaving retailers “desperate to get their goods to physical and virtual store shelves for the holiday season,” according to Eric Kulisch, FreightWaves’ air cargo editor.

Shippers are shifting cargo from oceans to air transportation to avoid delays. But this expensive ocean-to-air shift has ripple effects, including environmental ones. Moving freight via ocean vessel is much more efficient in terms of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-delays-turn-desperate-retailers-to-the-skies-increasing-emissions

Eastern Airlines enters air cargo market with ‘freighter-light’ model

An Eastern Airlines jet on tarmac in front of a hangar building.

Eastern Airlines, a small, relatively unknown passenger carrier, is making a significant play to join the air cargo big league with an unusual business model centered on stripping out seats from used aircraft rather than converting them to a traditional freighter that can carry heavy shipments on the main deck.

The Wayne, Pennsylvania-based company on Wednesday announced it has purchased 35 Boeing 777 widebody aircraft and plans to launch service targeted at the e-commerce and express delivery...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/eastern-airlines-enters-air-cargo-market-with-freighter-light-model

World’s largest aircraft lessor expands globally to meet capacity demand

Even as retail stores across the nation reopen and compete with e-commerce sales, e-commerce continues its fight upward. According to data from the National Retail Federation, the positive year-over-year growth of U.S. online sales in 2021 will sit between 18% and 23%, contributing to overall retail sales growth of up to 13.5%. 

In an interview with FreightWaves, Mike Berger, chief commercial officer for Ohio-based Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), spoke candidly about the growth of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/worlds-largest-aircraft-lessor-expands-globally-to-meet-capacity-demand

Shanghai airport facility in COVID lockdown, cargo backlog expected

Planes parked at Shanghai Airport in a row.

Multiple logistics companies are reporting that authorities have suspended operations in a major warehouse at Shanghai Pudong International Airport because of a COVID outbreak, putting a halt to most freighter activity at China’s largest cargo airport. 

The timing of the closure throws another wrench in supply chains already stretched thin by ocean and airfreight capacity shortages and extensive shipping delays as the peak export season kicks into high gear for the holidays. All-cargo carriers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shanghai-airport-facility-in-covid-lockdown-cargo-backlog-expected

Soaring high-tech equipment volumes evidence for sustained digital transformation

Woman using laptop in front of server stacks

Volumes for high-tech office equipment continue to soar. Bill Fallon, EVP of client solutions at AIT Worldwide Logistics, reported that his high-tech Fortune 500 clients see this growth as an outcome of continued investment in the equipment necessary for digital transformation. 

AIT Worldwide Logistics is a freight forwarder with more than 85 locations, providing sea, air and ground solutions for customers in just about every industry. Investments in cloud computing equipment and high-value...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/soaring-high-tech-equipment-volumes-evidence-for-sustained-digital-transformation

Long-haul narrowbody, supersonic jets could threaten air cargo

A United Airlines jet, with white fuselage and blue tail, lifts off from runway under bright blue sky with clouds.

United Airlines grabbed headlines last month with news it had signed a letter of intent for 15 supersonic jets. The sleek vehicles from Boom Supersonic have a long way to go before becoming a reality, but if they ever become viable, they could siphon off cargo capacity on a handful of key trade lanes. 

Of more immediate concern for cargo shippers are plans by airlines to rely more on smaller aircraft with long-range capability on some overseas routes instead of widebody planes that can carry...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/long-haul-narrowbody-supersonic-jets-could-threaten-air-cargo

Stranger things: Air cargo becomes value play over ocean freight

Supply chains in 2021 are living in an alternate dimension. Up is down and down is up. That’s what happens when container shipping rates exceed $20,000 per box and air cargo, normally used for high-value goods and perishable products for which speed to market is critical, doesn’t seem budget-scary anymore. 

The price for shipping goods by air is nearly double what it was before the COVID pandemic, but ocean freight has become so expensive – and even slower –  in recent months that air cargo...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stranger-things-air-cargo-becomes-value-play-over-ocean-freight

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