Traditionally, air cargo spot rates tend to decline or remain flat at best during H1, before rebounding from September onward until the year-end holiday season. And yet, the average global air cargo spot rate has secured its seventh consecutive week of growth in the week ending 14 April. It was up 9% from four weeks ago and up 6% from the same period last year. The surprisingly strong start to 2024 for ... The post No summer siesta for airfreight appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

PRESS RELEASE Global air cargo market demand rose +11% year-on-year for a third consecutive month in March as buoyant e-commerce volumes and concerns over the impact of conflict in the Red Sea region on ocean freight services delivered an unexpected first quarter bonus for forwarders and airlines, according to the latest weekly market data from Xeneta. In what are typically weaker months of the year for the airfreight industry, these higher volumes ... The post ‘Surprisingly resilient’ air cargo market enjoys third month of +11% demand growth appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

The start of the airline summer season this month is likely to hit airfreight rates with an increasing amount of belly capacity on passenger routes.   But right now, despite the major tradelanes not seeing significant changes, there remain pockets of high volumes.  Ex-India is still busy, say forwarders.   “Space is still congested across all India origin airports, as well transhipment points,” said Ligi Logistics.  “Space has been overbooked in hubs, as well ... The post Shipping disruption and e-commerce demand driving up airfreight rates appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

Airlines are dealing with considerable cargo backlogs across major international airports in India as volumes spike, according to industry updates. “The effect has been most [noticeable] at Delhi and Mumbai airports,” a source at Air India told The Loadstar. The source also noted that ocean trade diversions, in the wake of lingering Red Sea-linked pain points along with the traditional peak season for air cargo during March and April, had caused the ... The post Exporters nervous as air cargo congestion builds in Delhi and Mumbai appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

Forwarders are reporting air cargo congestion and rising air freight rates out of the Indian sub-continent – a situation they fear may get worse, owing to religious festivals. Rates from India to Europe have risen 75%, month on month, according to data from Xeneta, with spot rates for the week ending 10 March at $2.85/kg. Bangladesh to Europe has risen 29%, to $3.44. Wenwen Zhang, Xeneta airfreight analyst, said: “The surge in ... The post Forwarders warn of likely further air freight rate rises ex-India appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

UPDATED 3pm GMT: BFS said: “We can confirm we have now lifted the short embargo placed on import general cargo at Bangkok Airport, which was put in place to manage the sudden surge in volume resulting from the modal shift response to the Red Sea crisis as well as higher demand leading into the start of the Chinese New Year. These factors significantly increased volumes earlier this month… And at ... The post Air cargo congestion not widespread, despite higher volumes appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

There’s been fevered speculation that trouble in the Red Sea could spark a surge in airfreight rates, and there was indeed a rise in late January – though nothing huge yet. Going forward, it looks like the main drivers of volatility over next 12 months will be factors like the US elections; global freight issues related to both the Red Sea and Panama Canal; the Middle East and Black Sea conflicts; ... The post There’s more to the future of airfreight rates than Red Sea disruption appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

The return of bellies to the market has led to an increase in cargo capacity, and lower rates than during the pandemic peak, but it’s not yet at pre-Covid levels, claimed IAG Cargo this week. Increasing passenger flights and available cargo capacity is significant for IAG Cargo, according to Camilo Garcia Cervera, its chief sales and marketing officer. “With further capacity, our partner airlines have more flexibility in scheduling shipments, which is ... The post IAG Cargo eyes a wider network as e-commerce and hi-tech traffic grows appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

It has begun. Forwarders are finally seeing air cargo demand rise as shippers look to avoid the disruption in the Red Sea – with garment makers leading the way. Xeneta said today shippers in retail and apparel were beginning to switch to airfreight. Volumes from Vietnam to Europe spiked 62% in the week to 14 January, it said, some 6% higher than the October peak and 16% up on a year ... The post High fashion: Red Sea disruption sees apparel shippers switch to air appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more

E-commerce may have pulled air cargo out of a hole in the second half of 2023, but its main driver – industrial activity – remains weak. Air cargo traffic, capacity and revenues continued to recover in late 2023. According to IATA, world air cargo traffic expanded 8.3% year on year, as measured in cargo tonne-km (CTK), in November, the best month for industry traffic growth since December 2021. After 17 months of ... The post Air cargo: e-commerce still masking the lack of industrial traffic appeared first on The Loadstar ..read more