airfreight rates

Sagging air cargo market shows turnaround potential

A large air freight container on a flat cart pulled by a tug.

New data shows the decline in air cargo business slowed in August, traditionally the weakest month for international carriage of goods by air, raising hopes the upcoming pre-holiday season will be busier than some previously expected amid external forces that are pulling the market in different directions.

The airfreight market last month contracted 5% year over year, and 4% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and shipping rates continued to float downward, following demand drops of 8% in June and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sagging-air-cargo-market-shows-turnaround-potential

Air cargo market fades 8% in May, faces summer of uncertainty

Man in yellow vest monitors loading of pallets on roller system inside body of aircraft.

The air cargo market continues to lose altitude in the face of an overall economic slowdown and supply chain dislocations. Whether swiftly changing conditions enable airlines’ cargo business to swing it back to positive territory this summer is an open question.

Air freight volumes tumbled 8% in May versus 2021, replicating April’s slide, as the Ukraine war, large-scale COVID lockdowns in China, soaring inflation and high interest rates slowed global output and consumption, according to figures...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-market-fades-8-in-may-faces-summer-of-uncertainty

Why is air cargo suddenly affordable relative to ocean shipping?

A large cargo container on a hydraulic lift being loaded into the side door of a cargo plane.

The cost to ship goods around the world by air is about 2.5 times more expensive than before the pandemic. On major trade lanes, where demand is especially high, such as China and Southeast Asia to the United States, rates are five or six times higher than normal for the peak shipping season.

So how has airfreight become a relative bargain when ocean shipping is cheaper?

The air rate from China to the U.S. West Coast during the first week of November was about $14 per kilogram, double what it was...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-is-air-cargo-suddenly-more-affordable-compared-to-ocean-shipping

Freightos takes on TAC with new airfreight index

Screen shot of a computer display with commodity prices going up.

Online market Freightos, a global freight booking platform, has added a benchmark pricing index for airfreight alongside its daily composite of 40-foot container shipping rates known as the Freightos Baltic Index.

The weekly product, based on real-time transactional air cargo data, is a direct challenge to the Hong Kong-based TAC Index, the primary conduit for tracking aggregated pricing movement in the industry for several years.

The extreme volatility of air cargo rates and tight supply of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightos-takes-on-tac-with-new-airfreight-index

There is never a bad load, just a bad rate

There has never been more attention paid to freight transportation than what we are experiencing now. And like the Wall Street Bets crowd on Reddit, our industry loves talking about the direction of the market. While FreightWaves and other industry publications have always talked about freight rates, mainstream media is getting into the game. This is new. Except for those in the industry that live with the daily ups and downs of freight pricing, most people were not aware of the volatility of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/there-is-never-a-bad-load-just-a-bad-rate

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

Transport buyers dig deeper into wallets for air cargo

A 747 jumbo jet with white paint and light blue accents with the word CARGO on the side.

Air cargo rates are climbing sharply again, especially for shipments via Asia, after the slowdown for the recent Chinese New Year holiday was more muted than usual. And there is little prospect for price relief the rest of the year, analysts say, with the supply of large, intercontinental aircraft still far below pre-pandemic levels and ocean capacity oversubscribed.

Market watchers describe conditions for air shipments as volatile. COVID-19 has changed life and economic conditions so much that...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/transport-buyers-dig-deeper-into-wallets-for-air-cargo

For airlines, cargo no substitute for people

Containers on a lift get loaded into side a big airplane on a sunny day.

Air cargo and airline passenger business are inextricably linked, but they don’t share the same path to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Shipment volumes have nearly recovered to their 2019 levels and will grow by double digits this year, while outbreaks of new coronavirus strains and more government travel restrictions dampen expectations that passenger traffic can crawl back to half of 2019’s level, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday.

Although the cargo sector and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/for-airlines-cargo-no-substitute-for-people

Supply-demand imbalance continues to vex air cargo shippers

A cargo pallet sitting on tarmac next to a big white and blue jumbo jet.

The new year is off to a hot start for the air cargo market with no sign of cooling off. International transport activity typically softens following the holiday peak season, but demand and rates remain elevated because of unusual shipping patterns and a severe shortage of airlift triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

And logistics companies don’t expect air cargo volumes to subside before the Chinese New Year because manufacturers plan to continue operating without a traditional break. 

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supply-demand-imbalance-continues-to-vex-air-cargo-shippers

Air cargo market levels off in November; passenger sector sinks

A large pallet of cargo on a hydraulic lift gets loaded into the side door of a plane.

The airline industry contrast couldn’t be more stark: International passenger demand during November was 88.3% less than in 2019, while cargo volumes were only 7.7% below the prior year’s level, according to the International Air Transport Association.

And the gap could widen with an explosion of COVID-19 cases forcing countries to implement travel bans and border closures, while demand for manufactured goods, e-commerce products, perishable foods and coronavirus vaccines puts the air cargo...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/air-cargo-market-levels-off-in-november-passenger-sector-sinks

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