Air Cargo

But rising air cargo rates on the major Asian export trade lanes do not portend a peak season this year with analysts pointing to poor economic conditions exerting strong downward pressure on consumers in the US and Europe.

A month ago, no one was predicting a peak season for air cargo on the trans-Pacific, but finding space from China to the US has become difficult as e-commerce demand heats up.

The announcement was made simultaneously with the forwarder releasing its nine-month financial results that reflected softening air and ocean markets, dragging down profitability from last year’s record performance.

Shipments are getting smaller over time, driven in part by e-commerce growth, but also by a market that is disentangling cargo previously handled through air or ocean consolidation.

The last two months have been good for the air cargo market on export trade lanes out of Asia, but there remains considerable uncertainty whether the positive momentum will continue.

Rising airline costs and increasing air cargo demand over the last three months have largely insulated rate levels against a steady and significant increase in available air freight capacity.

Richard White said in an interview with the Journal of Commerce the logistics industry is stuck in a pattern of tackling small problems instead of viewing international trade as a large, connected system.

A widening imbalance between available air freight capacity and demand has dragged global rates to their lowest level since the start of the pandemic, with no signs of volumes improving on key outbound routes from Asia.

A difference of opinion over Flexport’s strategic shift toward fulfillment aimed at small businesses has prompted CEO Dave Clark to depart the company only a year after he came aboard.

The German-based forwarder remains the largest and most attractive takeover target in a cash-rich industry where the main players are all looking for opportunities to consolidate.

Inventory drawdowns and right-sizing will keep Asia-to-US container and air freight volumes soft well into 2024, writes analyst Jason Miller.

Two weeks after Forward Air acquired forwarder Omni Logistics, a private investment fund has taken over expedited third-party logistics provider Ascent Global Logistics.

Shippers and forwarders recently surveyed by Freightos believe artificial intelligence will reduce headcounts in the logistics industry, even if they have yet to figure out how best to use the still-emerging technology.

Spot rates have fallen significantly over the past year, but there is still some way to go before prices are back to 2019 levels.

AlisCargo will join MSC’s air freight division in early 2024 as the ocean carrier steadily builds out its global air network.

Air cargo capacity continues to grow through the summer, outpacing weak demand from major destination markets with no sign yet of any turnaround.

A challenging operating environment pulled down revenue and earnings at DHL, but the Germany-based integrator remains in a highly profitable position ahead of an uncertain second half.

Forwarders in 2021 signed long-term air cargo charters to meet rising demand for air freight resulting from an overheated ocean market, and some of those charter deals are still in place despite a widespread demand slowdown.

The decision by DSV and Kuehne + Nagel to protect yields at the expense of volume is allowing the forwarders to move into an uncertain second half in a solidly profitable position.

The CEOs of DSV and Kuehne + Nagel, shrugging off heavily distorted year-over-year comparisons, described their second-quarter results as “solid” and reflective of the evolving normalization of the air and ocean markets.

The 123,000-square-foot warehouse will also serve as a forward staging area for the carrier’s South Carolina-based flight operations that link the southeast US to Germany, China and South Korea.

Three new visibility products — from a hardware provider, a forwarder and a data provider — are evidence of a diverse cargo visibility market that is expanding options for shippers.

Weak demand from key regions in an air freight industry awash with excess capacity is forcing forwarders with block space agreements to fend off aggressive pricing policies by rivals.

The locations were chosen based on their proximity to key rail, airport and port facilities, the partners said.

There is little demand to be seen in air cargo routes out of Asia, but the aggressive expansion of Maersk Air Cargo connections to the US and Europe points to strong interest from the carrier’s existing customers.

The air and ocean shipping sectors have set out their decarbonization agendas, but policy help is urgently required to underpin investment in new fuel technology and production, a global trade group says.

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.

International air express carrier DHL is building out its US footprint to gain greater density and reach in its largest market, its CEO for the Americas says.

There are concerns that the latest requirement could force the price of sustainable aviation fuel higher, which would be felt in the pockets of airline passengers and cargo shippers.

Package volumes at the largest US package carrier by revenue fell farther than expected in the first quarter, especially in March, thanks to shifts in spending, UPS executives said. 

The forwarder’s CFO said ocean freight demand in the second quarter was expected to be much the same as Q1, but there were signs that stockpiling by customers in major markets was nearing an end.

Maersk’s growing air cargo capacity is being used to plug gaps in connectivity in the carrier’s integrated end-to-end logistics offering.

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.