This is a guest post by Evelina Thorne. Air freight regulations, often intricate and dynamic, demand unwavering attention from U.S. business professionals involved in import and export. Navigating this regulatory landscape requires both compliance and an understanding of its intricacies. So, let’s go over the crucial facets of these processes, offering insights and guidance to ensure smooth shipping operations. Understanding the Regulatory Landscape Navigating the complex world of air freight regulations can be daunting for U.S. businesspeople involved in import and export operations. You mus ..read more

By now, everyone should know what’s happening in Israel, but there’s a heavy propaganda machine muddying it. So before getting into the related international shipping story, I’ll make my position clear. No sugarcoating, no talking about how complicated the situation is, and no playing the moral equivalency game: Hamas is a terrorist organization. It doesn’t believe the Jewish people have a right to a nation or even to live. Earlier this month, Hamas launched terrorist attacks on Israel with a death toll around 1,400 people. Hamas terrorists murdered children and babies. They raped women. They ..read more

I admit it. I write about ocean freight shipping in Universal Cargo’s blog a whole lot more than air freight. Perhaps I have a bias in the ocean freight vs. air freight debate. The last time I really wrote about air freight rates and the conditions for shippers importing or exporting via air freight was at the end of last year. Then, overcapacity was putting downward pressure on air freight rates and creating shipper-friendly conditions for utilizing air freight as we moved into 2023. Has the situation changed or are air freight rates still favorable for shippers? Traditionally, this is the pe ..read more

The Future of Ocean and Air Freight: Ensuring the Longevity of Your Logistics Strategy This is a guest post by Cris Mark Baroro. Today’s intricate global trade system demands efficient and dependable international transportation of goods. Consequently, the successful exchange of commodities across nations underpins the core operations of many companies worldwide. A staggering number of containers shuttle between countries, underscoring the substantial daily traffic in the freight industry. Access to innovative technology and robust machinery is vital for businesses as they navigate the comple ..read more

This is a guest post by Alice Lawrence. In today’s frantic business environment, meeting deadlines is more important than ever. When shipments are late, businesses risk losing customers and money. Therefore, businesses frequently choose air freight services because of their timely and dependable deliveries. In this post, we’ll discuss how express air freight can help you and your business to keep up with strict schedules. What is Express Air Freight? Express air freight is a type of cargo transportation service that ensures the timely and reliable delivery of goods. Companies who need to tran ..read more

Air freight shippers may want to consider avoiding Chicago O’Hare until a bad and potentially very disruptive situation there is resolved. A Chicago mandate pushed forward by the city’s unpopular Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 could revoke the licenses of contractors who handle air cargo at the major hub if they don’t reach a signed agreement with SEIU by January 20th. This would create massive disruption for air cargo at O’Hare. In an excellent Freight Waves article about the situation, Eric Kulisch reports: Cargo airline executives warn it ..read more

With a population of over 746 million, Europe has a significant need for products, from food to clothing and consumer goods. It’s no wonder, then, that they turn to the USA to supply some of the goods their population needs. The European Union has eliminated tariffs and other trade limitations between member nations, but there is still significant opportunity for businesses that want to export from the USA to Europe. The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union in 2020 created heightened interest in new markets for EU member countries and the U.K. as these nations tried to find new s ..read more

Despite slow, even what some would call stagnant, growth in international trade over the last several years, the air freight sector saw healthy growth in cargo demand during 2016. In fact, it was the best air freight had seen in five years. In a press release, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shared that “demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) grew by 3.8% in 2016 compared to 2015. This was nearly double the industry’s average growth rate of 2.0% over the last five years.” That demand growth is very encouraging for the air sector of international shipping, e ..read more

I’ve been getting emails about shipping to and from Russia through China. Naturally, reading them raises questions. Here are a few: Is China providing a way around sanctions? Are these for shipments that wouldn’t actually break sanctions? Do these emails show China is supporting Russia in the current conflict? Let’s get into it. Sanctions Sanctions are serious things that shippers should be careful not to break. Violators can face both criminal and civil penalties. However, just because someone is currently shipping to or from Russia, where many sanctions have been and are being placed, doesn ..read more

Imports for the end of the year were already expected to decline, but at the end of last week the expected decline for October basically doubled. November and December’s expected decline increased too. Truck transportation jobs in September fell so much, the numbers are being reported as historic. And as for the air freight peak season, when last minute goods are imported for the holiday shopping season… well, what air freight peak season? Sometimes when you round up the international shipping news stories of the day, they paint a pretty bleak picture on the horizon. We are in a recession, so ..read more