Air Cargo

With no material improvement in heavily constrained air cargo capacity expected anytime soon, forwarders have been aggressively expanding their access to space

CMA CGM Air Cargo’s two Airbus freighters will take to the skies in March, adding capacity to a severely constrained trans-Atlantic market.

The seasonal drop in demand is likely behind a steep fall in air freight rates out of China, but limited capacity will keep prices above pre-pandemic levels traditionally seen in the first half of the year.

Kuehne + Nagel has made its biggest ever takeover deal in an agreement to acquire Chinese forwarder Apex and capitalize on explosive growth in the Asia Pacific e-commerce market.

Backlogs in Chinese factory orders and sustained demand from the US and Europe is keeping air cargo capacity full and rates up during a period that is typically the slack season.

CMA CGM has taken a giant step deeper into the air freight market, launching an air cargo division to provide global coverage out of Europe.

Instant freight quoting is becoming a divided market, with one end focused on large shippers and the other on small and medium-sized businesses, according to Freightos’ annual State of Online Freight Sales survey.

Shippers of air cargo will face capacity constraints for the rest of 2021, and global forwarders are having to grow their controlled networks to cater to the steady demand.

All Kuehne + Nagel cargo on the air freight trade lane between Amsterdam and Los Angeles will be carried by aircraft flying on sustainable aviation fuel.

The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the US is being slowed not by transportation issues, but by “last-mile” inefficiencies in many states, especially a lack of personnel, funding, and necessary planning.

Trans-Pacific air cargo rates maintained their upward track into the New Year, and even though prices fell slightly on the other east-west trades, global volume growth has continued.

Logistics managers that saw their organization's supply chains disrupted and transportation budgets blown out of the water in 2020 will be at the epicenter of make-or-break decisions in the coming year.

Airlines are beginning to extend the validity of rates offered on some major trades after cutting price and space guarantees to one week or even less when passenger fleets were first grounded at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

AIT Worldwide Logistics expands its e-commerce capabilities and geographical footprint through the acquisition of Fiege Freight Forwarding.

There’s debate about how much of a knock-on effect COVID-19 vaccine distribution could have on other types of cargoes, but US shippers are cautioned to plan for some disruption.

The widespread distribution of coronavirus vaccines early next year will compete for limited transport capacity amid peak air cargo season, with the shipments channeled through the same hub airports.

COVID-19 and the wave of imports reaching the US will keep pressure on transportation capacity and pricing, from ports to the last mile, shippers warned Tuesday.

Average spot rates were already rising ahead of the holiday season as new products from Apple, Samsung, and Sony competed for space with general air cargo and personal protective equipment.

Small package optimization and analytics firm ShipMatrix is launching a third-party, non-asset package management service to tap US Postal Service capacity for e-commerce shippers.

Forwarders are having to rebuild their air cargo logistics infrastructure to compensate for significant cuts in capacity as much of the passenger aircraft fleet will remain grounded through 2021.

US shippers are opening contract talks early, extending existing agreements, and seeking short-term contracts to hedge against expected 2021 rate increases.

Limited air cargo capacity is colliding with strengthening demand, as technology product launches compete for space with general cargo and medical equipment.

This year’s peak season promises to be tumultuous, but 2021 could be just as difficult for shippers as 2020.

Reliability will be more important than price for air cargo shippers during what is expected to be a strong peak season made more intense by severe long-haul capacity constraints.

The scale of peak season demand for air cargo on the trades out of Asia is becoming clearer, and has forwarders scrambling to lock in capacity.

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine out to the furthest reaches of the world is going to require an immense effort from the air cargo supply chain, says IATA’s outgoing head of cargo Glyn Hughes, but it will be under his successor’s watch.

UPS and Amazon are expanding capabilities at smaller airports in Kansas City and Tampa, respectively, to speed up last-mile deliveries.

Intense preparations are underway among logistics and air transport providers to ensure a coronavirus vaccine can be distributed around the world as soon as it is available.

Air cargo volume continues to narrow the gap with year over year levels, with rates rising at the end of August as both freight tonnage and capacity increased.

As e-commerce booms on both sides of the US-Canadian border, Purolator International expands northbound next-day air service between the countries.

Average air freight spot rates on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes weakened this week, but forwarders and analysts are predicting that rising demand will drive rates back up in the fourth quarter.

Rising outbreaks of the coronavirus are keeping travel restrictions in place, preventing airlines from reactivating their grounded international capacity and severely restricting available freight space.

Severely limited air cargo capacity has forced airlines to scrap many block space deals held with forwarders at a time when spot rates on the major east-west trades are at high levels.

FedEx Express has increased its temporary international COVID-19 surcharge, weighing the extra costs of air cargo capacity limits as businesses struggle to stay afloat.

The three largest express providers reported improving signs in the sector in their most recent earnings reports, as COVID-hit volumes recovered gradually as the second quarter progressed.

The air cargo industry is gradually moving to electronic bookings between forwarders and airlines, but the evolution could still take time if previous digitization initiatives in the industry are any indication.

Airlines and forwarders say spiking coronavirus infections in the US and developing countries will likely keep air cargo capacity in tight supply and elevate rate levels for a long time.

As freight volumes rise, expedited LTL operator Forward Air is expanding capacity by 30 percent at the heart of its airport-to-airport network in Columbus, Ohio.

With global capacity unable to meet current demand, air cargo’s next challenge will be to find enough capacity to handle any massive rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine.

By launching a door-to-door, less-than-truckload business in Savannah, Forward Air is adding more freight and building density in its airport-to-airport network.