Following a series of security incidents involving incendiary devices found in European parcel shipments, the U.S. and Canada have implemented new air cargo security measures to prevent similar threats from reaching their shores.  The discovery of two devices in a Germany parcel logistics hub in July raised significant concerns about the safety of air freight shipments. German officials linked these packages to the Baltics, fuelling suspicions of Russian involvement in attempts to destabilise global supply chains. In response to these threats, the U.S. Transportation Security Administrat ..read more

Global logistics is facing a mix of recovery and ongoing challenges across ocean, air, and road freight sectors, within the volatility and complexity of the current global supply chain environment. Situation Summary Ocean freight continues to face significant challenges, with vessels fully booked until August and strong demand from Asia expected to persist into the third quarter. Port congestion and strikes in key regions add to the disruption. Air freight rates have risen for six consecutive months, driven by increased cargo volumes and capacity constraints, particularly on routes from Bangl ..read more

The US logistics landscape is currently facing a series of significant challenges that could disrupt the flow of goods across multiple sectors. The threat of a strike looms large over the East and Gulf coasts, while US imports from Asia are surging and the airfreight sector, which is already under immense pressure, could deteriorate further if these strikes come to fruition. Potential ILA Strike Looms With the current labour contract set to expire on 30th September, the ILA has issued a 60-day strike notice, indicating their readiness to walk off the job if a new agreement isn’t reached. Uni ..read more

Understanding the real size and impact of eCommerce demand on air freight and its short-term outlook is challenging due to the lack of direct data. However, by analysing anecdotal comments and available market data, we can gain useful insights. In 2023, the air cargo market experienced a slowdown in demand, significantly below the peak volumes of 2021 when pandemic-induced demand surged. By mid-2023, air cargo traffic had recorded 17 consecutive months of year-over-year declines starting from Q1 2022. However, air cargo demand has since seen 10 consecutive months of year-over-year growth, wit ..read more

The rise of eCommerce demand for air cargo from China has been particularly profound on North American routes, driven by platforms like Shein and Temu, and the US’ generous ‘de minimis’ allowance which exempts qualifying consignments from duties and formal entry requirements. Air cargo yields out of China and Hong Kong at the beginning of this year were up 45% compared to pre-pandemic 2019, whilst yields across the rest of the world were just 15% higher. Online cross-border consumer orders reached a scale, where they have been filling the equivalent of 90 Boeing 747 freighters out of Southern ..read more

The availability of container equipment in Asia is increasingly tight as demand grows on the major east-west and transpacific trades, with rising rates and Red Sea disruption surcharges. Demand has been spiking at the end of April and beginning of May leading to some shippers seeing their cargo rolled. In addition to cargo rollovers, the tightening of space is leading some carriers to cancel contracts, charge guaranteed space premiums and adjust volume allocations. Strong first-quarter demand from Asia to Europe has seen overall volumes increase 11% year over year, with China to Europe volume ..read more

Global air cargo market demand rose 11% year on year in March, driven by the ‘Red Sea crisis’, garments and surging eCommerce demand and with Q1 2024 capacity growing at a slower rate of 8% pressure on rates is getting stronger. Airfreight spot rates would typically soften at this time of year, as the reintroduction of passenger flights adds significant amounts of belly-hold airfreight capacity, but sustained high demand at some origins are actually pushing rates up. Key global regions including the Asia Pacific, Middle East and South Asia have been experiencing high demand and rising rates ..read more

At the end of Q1 2024, the UK and EU economies moved back to growth, with manufacturing growing and new orders (PMI) accelerating to seven-month highs, with 2024 global GDP forecasts rising from 2.3% to 2.6%, as consumer confidence returns.  Situation summary After a tumultuous few weeks in the wake of the Red Sea crisis, some form of stability is returning, with the round-Africa routings now normalising and global schedule reliability climbing above 53%. Global air cargo demand remained solid in March, however, rates are soft in certain regions compared to last year’s levels, while Chin ..read more

All China ports are operating, while facing a variety of local COVID control measures and the prospect of lockdown with short notice. Some critical road infrastructure is not available and strict rules for the testing of drivers is limiting transport capacity in many areas, impacting operations and adding to costs in many regions. Weaker export demand and the ongoing lockdowns in the Shanghai region have weighed heavily on market sentiment over the last weeks and as vessel queues grew outside some Chinese ports, equipment imbalances have been anticipated as the length and magnitude of the loc ..read more

Supply chains continue to be challenged by the impacts of the COVID pandemic, which is why we have continued to focus on the provision of air, sea/air and sea freight services from Asia and the US for your time-sensitive and urgent shipments. As we move into the 2nd quarter of 2021, we are all hopeful that the vaccination roll-out will lead to a return to some sort normality, but until then, it looks like last years’ challenges will remain with us and intense competition for scarce vessel space and equipment, means that prices are likely to stay strong, even if demand subsides slightly. Ocean ..read more