Air Cargo Forwarder News

The airline industry has performed better than expected so far this year, with the International Air Transport Association providing a surprisingly sunny financial outlook for an industry with a forecasted profit margin of just 1.2%.

Air cargo carriers are set for a bleak few months, with high inventory levels and economic issues in destination markets further dampening the traditionally slow summer season.

There are few signs of improvement in demand for air freight on major trade lanes out of Asia, while a steady increase in below-deck belly capacity is adding to the downward pressure on rate levels.

Steadily increasing volume on trans-Atlantic air freight routes ended in March as demand growth slowed for the first time in two years.

The 10-year partnership between Air France-KLM and CMA CGM will dramatically expand the available air cargo capacity and global network of the France-based fleet.

Historic highs in global freight volumes and rates in the first half of last year helped insulate third-party logistics providers (3PLs) from a market collapse in the second half.

Forwarders that experimented with new software during the days of robust freight demand now face a dilemma over what technology produces actual returns on investment as volumes and margin shrink.

German unions demanding inflation-busting wage increases walked off the job Monday, bringing the country’s transport system to a halt.

In addition to long-haul passenger aircraft with significant belly freight capacity coming back into service to capture growing travel business, several airlines are adding freighters to the major trade lanes.

Freight rate booking marketplace Freightos said its unprofitable business is seeing improving margins and that scale will help it past the breakeven point.

The post-pandemic recovery of China’s economy following the lifting of restrictions late last year is sparking increasingly optimistic expectations for the air cargo market in 2023 despite a challenging start to the year.

Denmark’s DSV collected record profits for 2022, but the forwarder says a return to a more “normal” market has begun.

The traditional air cargo market slowdown has been exaggerated by an early start to the Lunar New Year and an unfavorable comparison with last year’s robust peak season.

Freightos’ public listing on the NASDAQ will be the first test of how public investors value one of the more prominent logistics technology companies to emerge over the past decade.

The need for forwarders to tether quoting and tracking in international freight modes to US surface modes has been highlighted by new offerings from ECU Worldwide and Freightos.

Whereas a shortage of capacity in major trades was the chief issue for air cargo providers over the past two years, the greatest challenge in 2023 will be a lack of demand.

Dismal November air cargo data has all but assured a weak end to 2022 with no sign of a seasonal uplift in demand or rate levels from an oversupplied market.

Forwarder Kuehne + Nagel is receiving new freighter capacity as global demand wanes and rate levels tumble through a non-existent peak season.

Soaring online orders for electronics and mobility devices are flooding the US postal services with undeclared lithium-ion batteries, posing a growing threat to the transport supply chain.

The global air cargo industry is flying into bracing headwinds, but airline CEOs remain largely positive that demand will return early next year.

There is no sign of an air cargo peak season this year and few signals that 2023 will see any improvement as global economic conditions worsen.

The world’s long-haul airlines are celebrating a steady return of passenger traffic, but as planes fill with travelers, weakening freight demand means carriers are struggling to fill the surplus cargo capacity below their feet.

A proposal to significantly reduce annual flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is rattling air cargo operators at the airport.

Demand for air cargo declined through September, and analysts say there is nothing in their data to indicate a pickup in volume out of Asia through the balance of the year.

Spot rates on some air cargo routes out of Asia have fallen below long-term contract levels, mirroring the development in ocean shipping.

Average air cargo rates on east-west trade lanes have declined significantly since April as demand slows in line with the traditional slack summer season.

Peak season has begun for air travel between Europe and North America, but forwarders making use of belly cargo capacity on passenger planes do not expect the below-deck boon to last.

An ongoing shortage of capacity on the main trade lanes out of Asia and growing signs of declining demand are clouding the air cargo outlook for the remainder of the year.

The air freight industry is seeing a welcome increase in the urgently needed long-haul belly cargo capacity available to the market as international travel starts picking up.

CMA CGM Air Cargo will use its parent company’s extensive ocean forwarder network to drive new business as the airline readies for a rapid global expansion under its Air France-KLM partnership.

Air cargo capacity is flooding back into the trans-Atlantic market via below deck belly space as travel increases and airlines ramp up their summer schedules.

Shippers converting ocean consignments into air freight to avoid port bottlenecks along the US East Coast are filling all available air cargo capacity on the trans-Atlantic trade lane.

Winding down operations in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine has come with a hefty price tag, but transport providers are mostly playing down the impact.

Bonded trucking services in and out of Shanghai’s Pudong have been suspended and most flights have been canceled, bringing operations at China’s busiest cargo airport to a standstill.

The ever-widening effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s COVID-19 lockdowns are placing mounting pressure on an already stressed air cargo sector.

Growing demand for e-commerce is behind forwarder moves to lock in controlled air freight capacity on Asia-US routes, with a particular focus on Vietnam.

The creativity of service providers is being tested as COVID-19 infections continue to spread around Asia and disrupt regional supply lines.

San Francisco-based Passport said it will use $39 million in new funding to expand its outbound parcel platform for US e-commerce sellers looking to manage logistics and trade compliance on international orders.

Toughening Hong Kong’s quarantine requirement for air cargo pilots would severely disrupt airfreight operations during peak air cargo season and ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holiday.

The bottlenecks that have frustrated ocean shippers all year have spread to air cargo, pushing up rates to stratospheric levels and delaying shipments.