Air Cargo

The sector is off to a strong start to the year, but tariff-driven trade tensions and other concerns could have a negative impact on the global air freight market, according to industry groups.

While the US-based carrier experienced a strong 2024, growth this year is under threat due to tariffs and the unknowns involving when Red Sea transits will resume.

The forwarder reported solid results to close 2024 as unknowns linked to US longshore labor, tariff policy and changes to de minimis rules fueled trans-Pacific freight demand.

The first in a series of “development flights” loaded with packages from Hong Kong landed at the Scottish west coast airport this week with a view to launching scheduled weekly services in March.

The European Commission wants member states to exert greater control over low-value imports, while its consumer watchdog has launched an investigation into e-commerce giant Shein.

The former Wisconsin congressman and Fox Business host was confirmed by a 77-22 vote on Tuesday.

Average rates hit a 2024 high in early December but have declined steadily since, with not even an early Lunar New Year able to prevent the slide.

Airbus’ sudden shutdown of its heavy-lift subsidiary is pushing aviation experts to investigate alternative options to ensure lifts for outsized and project cargo loads are maintained.

The Doha-based carrier will expand the digital connectivity of its containers to improve real-time visibility across the global cargo and passenger network.

The US is seeking to amend rules regarding so-called de minimis shipments, which have skyrocketed since the pandemic.

Capacity will continue to be the greatest challenge facing cargo owners moving goods from Asia by air this year.

The deal will see Acuitive Solutions’ AcuAudit product integrated into Cass’ freight audit and payment platform, one widely used by large shippers.

Whether it be geopolitical crises, labor unrest or the wild card of a second Trump administration, the global supply chain will face no shortage of unknowns in 2025.

As the supply-demand imbalance drives air freight rates to levels not seen in two years, forwarders are trying to balance the contractual requirements of airlines while securing capacity at reasonable rates for customers.

Advent eModal, a three-decade landmark provider of fee collection and appointment scheduling at container terminals, has been sold by private equity group Blackstone to air cargo software specialist CargoSprint.

While cargo volume is expected to grow 5.8% next year, the airline association is warning that aircraft supply chain issues will raise costs, possibly limiting that growth.

Airlines repositioning freighter aircraft from the trans-Atlantic to the more profitable Asia market combined with a seasonal decline in belly cargo on the Europe-US route have pushed rates on the trade lane near a two-year high.

Air cargo is seeing a greater volume of non-essential products to get around container shipping challenges, a move that comes at a substantial cost to shippers.

The first week of December is traditionally when demand for air cargo reaches its highest level, and this year a wide imbalance between demand and available space is pushing up already elevated prices.

By connecting to forwarder-customers of software vendor e2open, Freightos is continuing its push to develop electronic booking capability in the air freight industry.

The company has the largest ground transportation fleet in Asia, with more than 86,000 trucks and 100,000 first- and last-mile delivery vehicles.

Volume and rates on the Asian export corridors to the US and Europe have been high all year and online shopping promotions in November are further stoking the market.

The recent rise in volume to Europe contrasts sharply with China-to-US tonnage that in the second half has fallen far below year-over-year levels following greater scrutiny by US authorities on e-commerce imports.

Jens Lund this week emphasized the earnings potential of the takeover, pointing to greater scale and a wider portfolio of services that would increase the combined entity’s reach.

Rising competition and tough negotiations with customers are believed to be behind the narrowing profit margins that were plainly displayed in the financial results of the two forwarders.

A year of disruption has been on-the-job training for air freight shippers that are now battle-hardened and prepared for a tough end-of-year peak season.

Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board approved DSV’s $16 billion acquisition of rival forwarder DB Schenker despite opposition from union members on the board.

The integration of two large companies in similar industries is “particularly challenging,” according to Tobias Meyer, who withdrew DHL’s interest in DB Schenker earlier this year.

While there are still regulatory hurdles to clear, a spokesperson for DSV told the Journal of Commerce the combined company “will continue under the DSV brand” going forward.

Eight straight months of double-digit volume growth and a massive increase in trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe e-commerce volumes, mostly shipped from China by air, has left air cargo capacity in short supply.

Sustained demand for air cargo on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades and the promise of rising rates through the end-of-year peak are encouraging airlines to pull capacity from less-lucrative lanes.

Still, the buoyant mood of carriers contrasts with global forwarders that have low levels of exposure to e-commerce shipments and are under pressure to find capacity for traditional customers.

Eight straight months of double-digit volume growth in global air freight markets has kept freighters full and flying at peak utilization, and continued demand is expected to outstrip available capacity through Q4 and beyond.

The extent of the disruption to air freight schedules is not yet apparent, but the loss of the belly cargo space, even for a short period, comes at a particularly inconvenient time.

The service comes as air freight rates out of Hong Kong have stabilized but are still approximately 20% higher than this time last year, according to the Baltic Air Index.

A flood of duty-free shipments from Asia has upped the ante on brokers having broad knowledge of the upstream supply chains used by their importer clients.

Chinese online marketplaces have hit on a rich vein of business-to-customer volumes, with the current boom in international air freight driven by cross-border e-commerce rather than a recovery of traditional manufacturing.

Peak season has come early to air freight markets and with ocean shipping disrupted and e-commerce filling planes out of Asia, the demand is set to extend through the second half and beyond.

Not even the widespread disruption to global aviation from the Microsoft IT outage in mid-July could derail resurgent air freight markets.

More than 70% of air cargo space controlled by Kuehne + Nagel subsidiary Apex has been presold for the third and fourth quarters.