air cargo capacity

Airfreight rates expected to shoot up by September

A white and red Austrian Airlines plane, viewed from the side on a sunny day. The reduced number of passenger planes in the skies has reduced space for carrying cargo.

Stability in the airfreight market may be short-lived, with outbound China rates rising this month and big high-tech product launches poised to soak up cargo aircraft in several weeks. That could pinch some shippers that currently view air transport as a refuge from unreliable and expensive ocean shipping, freight transportation specialists say.

The price of shipping by air has dropped about 70% since the spring, when capacity shortages were rampant because of surging medical-supply orders, but...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airfreight-rates-expected-to-shoot-up-by-september

Airline 1H cargo revenues grew despite drop in volume

Cargo pallets on a lift platform being loaded in the side of a large plane. Airlines carried fewer loads in the first six months, but made more money because they could charge much more.

Air cargo throughput shrank more than 18% in the first half of 2020, but revenue from airline cargo operations grew almost 21% because the scarcity of available aircraft led to significantly higher rates, according to data compiled by World ACD.

The figures dovetail with a June estimate from the International Air Transport Association that global cargo revenues will increase $8 billion from last year despite a 16.8% decrease in tonnage associated with decreased economic activity caused by the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airline-1h-cargo-revenues-grew-despite-drop-in-volume

Outbound airfreight market tightens from China, Hong Kong

Cargo pallets come off a the rear door of a big cargo plane. China cargo capacity is shrinking and rates are going back up, according to the latest data.

Airfreight rates out of China are beginning to creep up again and there are signs the cost to ship goods to North America and Europe could quickly escalate again as shippers flock to air transport while the supply of aircraft falls.

A confluence of factors associated with a resurgent coronavirus, ocean freight dynamics, Hong Kong health safety rules and operational issues at all-cargo operators is causing the Chinese airfreight market to tighten, according to market researchers and logistics...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/outbound-airfreight-market-tightens-from-china-hong-kong

FAA clears airlines to remove passenger seats for cargo

Boxes stored in cabin where passenger seats normally go.

The Federal Aviation Administration late Friday gave U.S. airlines permission to remove passenger seats and transport cargo on the floor of the cabin in aircraft being deployed on cargo-only flights.

The exemption to existing regulations governing aircraft operations lasts for one year. The FAA also extended until July 10, 2021, its prior ruling that airlines could fly with cargo strapped into the seats through the end of this year.

The FAA’s response may be too late to benefit passenger airlines...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/faa-clears-airlines-to-remove-passenger-seats-for-cargo

Airfreight Pulse: More capacity eases pressure on rates

Flight preparations as viewed from behind and below the tail of a big jetliner.

Airfreight rates continued to fall in July as virus-related shipments gave way to a more normal mix of commodities and beefed-up passenger schedules presented greater transport opportunities for shippers.

But there are signs the trend may not last. The ebb and flow of coronavirus containment and spread in different regions of the world presents a cautionary note against expectations the airline industry recovery will continue in a straight line without interruption, and that cargo capacity won’t...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airfreight-pulse-more-capacity-eases-pressure-on-rates

Air cargo market: Rationality returns, but for how long?

Big silver jet with pallets of cargo next to it on the ground.

Current and lagging indicators show the air cargo market is continuing to stabilize after a three-month bubble that saw transport rates quintuple for China export routes. Despite the apparent slow-down in shipments of personal protective equipment, shortages of face masks and other medical supplies at U.S. hospitals could make the correction short-lived.

Air freight volumes are picking up as the recovery in global economic activity spurs cross-border trade in more typical goods for manufacturers...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/air-cargo-market-rationality-returns-but-for-how-long

Air cargo picks up in May, demand still weak

Machine lifts cargo pallets up to door of plane for loading.

Shipments are increasing as the global economy gradually reawakens from a coronavirus-induced slumber and that is translating into slightly better air cargo demand, new data shows.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported air cargo volume fell 20.3% in May from 2019, but that was better than April’s year-over-year decline of 25.6%. International demand, measured by the amount of cargo tons times distance carried, dropped 21.5% in May.

The trade group’s figures show better...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-picks-up-in-may-demand-still-weak

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