It was a strong month for global air freight markets in March. The overall Baltic Air Freight Index (BAI00), calculated by TAC Data, notched up five successive weekly gains, ending the month up +12.2% over the four weeks to 1 April, and cutting its year-on-year decline to only -16.5%. Sources cited various reasons for this renewed strength in the market – from the continuing rise of e-commerce to upcoming product launches, plus ongoing disruption to ocean shipping in the Red Sea and elsewhere. E-commerce was certainly a big theme at last month’s IATA World Cargo Symposium, which attracted reco ..read more

February was a strange month in air cargo markets, with a range of conflicting factors driving market rates wildly up and down at different points over the period. Among the key factors were notably the continuing disruption to ocean shipping traffic in the Red Sea – and the big surge in shipping rates that had sparked late last year. There were also instances of congestion leading to the suspension of air cargo business for short periods in certain locations, notably in Dubai and then in Bangkok – though these did not seem to be related directly to events in the Red Sea. Plus the usual rush o ..read more

TAC Index launches air freight rate data from Europe to the United States (US). You can now track outbound and inbound air cargo costs between Europe and the US with TAC Index data. This new route complements existing air cargo price coverage from Frankfurt (Germany), London (United Kingdom) and Milan (Italy) to the United States. The United States is the largest trading partner with Europe. In 2022, the EU exported 509 billion Euros in goods, and imported 359 billion Euros (source: Eurostat). This makes the US the largest export market, and second-largest import market, for Europe. Since ..read more

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 Red Sea and Panama Canal; the Middle East and Black Sea conflicts; plus likely US and EU interest rate adjustments.  January, however, was dominated by speculation about an immediate surge in air cargo rates that – contrary to predictions – took some time to start arriving. Expectations of rising rates were driven mostly by the attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis of Yemen. That led to large-scale diversion of ..read more

Air freight rates from Viet Nam to Europe are on the rise. The combination of demand from the ocean freight disruptions and Lunar New Year is finally driving up prices. TAC Index data shows that, although air freight volumes increased in the two weeks to the 22nd January, the average achieved price per kg from Viet Nam to Europe decreased (-20%). This trend has reversed with rates to Europe increasing 15.9% WoW to the 29th January. With the current ocean freight disruptions air cargo demand increased earlier this year relative to Lunar New Year. Air cargo volumes increased by 79% in the week t ..read more

Data released by TAC Index on Monday 15th January showed that air cargo prices from North Asia to Europe had increased, but we have yet to see a ‘surge’ in rates from the current ocean freight disruptions.  Higher air freight rates from North Asia to Europe compared to the US, relative to pre-peak levels (average rate in July 2023), supported by the underlying price distribution dynamics, suggest higher and increasing air cargo demand, especially out of China. This is likely in reaction to the ocean freight disruptions combined with the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays when demand and rat ..read more

TAC Index is pleased to announce that an air freight rate index for general cargo from Europe to China is now available on the TAC Index website. This route complements our more granular air cargo market coverage to China, such as Frankfurt to China and Frankfurt to Shanghai. China is the second largest export market from Europe (excluding intra-Europe trade). The EU alone exported more than 230 billion Euros of goods to China in 2022 (source: Eurostat). The EU also imported more than 620 billion Euros worth of goods from China in 2022 making it the EU’s largest import partner (source: Eurosta ..read more

Air cargo costs out of China and Hong Kong to the United States and Europe have quickly returned to levels last seen in September after surging on e-commerce demand through the 2023 peak season. The welcomed return of the peak season provided some positivity to the air freight market following a lackluster couple of years. The only upturn in rates in 2022 was due to the invasion of Ukraine that caused capacity disruptions from the closure of Russian air space and the loss of Russian airlines, such as AirBridgeCargo, which were significant capacity providers. Since then it has been a constant d ..read more

TAC Index is pleased to announce that an air freight rate index for general cargo from Bangkok (Thailand) to Europe is now available on the TAC Index website. Thailand has a large export market to Europe, with the EU importing more than 27 billion Euros of goods from Thailand in 2022. The TAC Index data provides participants in this trade lane with real-time insights into air freight rates, aiding strategic decision-making in this dynamic market. Air cargo costs from Bangkok to Europe have had a turbulent journey in the last 4 years, soaring by over 300% from pre-Covid to its peak in 2022 befo ..read more

TAC Index is pleased to announce that an air freight rate index for general cargo from Europe to Japan is now available on the TAC Index website. Japan is one of the largest export markets from Europe, with the EU exporting more than 70 billion Euros of goods to Japan in 2022. The TAC Index data now empowers participants in this trade lane with real-time insights into air freight rates, aiding strategic decision-making in this dynamic market. Air freight rates from Europe to Japan have been particularly impacted by exogenous risk factors and this is reflected in the volatility of the air cargo ..read more