The air cargo market is enjoying an unexpected boom during the slow season, but it’s unclear whether demand is pulling from the third and fourth quarters to avoid supply chain delays or will continue to build.
The air cargo sector grew more than 10% during the first quarter on the back of e-commerce exports from China and supply chain disruptions in the Red Sea.
The air cargo market has certainly turned around from the depths of last summer, but the extraordinary increase in January volumes should be taken with a grain of salt. Conditions are improving, but short-term factors inflated the January numbers.
After two consecutive years of negative growth, air cargo is shaping up for a rebound in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association and industry experts.
The air cargo market has pulled out of its 1.5-year dive, but analysts say don’t be deceived by the slight seasonal improvement. Real growth is many months away.
Too many freighter aircraft, especially single-aisle passenger conversions, are entering the market and lowering lease rates. But production continues to hum because cargo operators need more aircraft over the long term to support e-commerce growth and replenish aging fleets.
Flight hours are a proxy for air cargo demand and the amount of time all-cargo aircraft are flying is falling.
The air cargo market, like other freight sectors, is in a dip. There are mixed signs that air could bounce back sooner than other transport modes.
Ethiopian Airlines is investing in five more Boeing 777 freighters to meet shipping demand.
Airlines are carrying less cargo because of global economic headwinds, but the slowdown isn’t reflected in shipping rates.
The air cargo market is very strong, but the latest January numbers are deceiving.
Peak airport congestion during peak season is undermining air cargo transport.
Air cargo is typically unaffordable for most shippers. With ocean rates off the charts, air doesn’t look so bad. If you can find a booking, why wouldn’t you fly?
Freightos has set up an index to track a basket of prices for airfreight, just like it did with its ocean shipping index.
Air cargo is booming, but the pandemic set back international passenger airlines by seven years or more by several metrics.
The global airline industry still has a steep climb out of its financial hole. U.S. airlines are doing better, but watch out for the delta variant.
Labor shortages at Chinese airports and pilot quarantine rules related to COVID are forcing airlines to scuttle many cargo flights to keep operations going and pilots from being put in isolation.
The Upside Down is a parallel universe inhabited by the Demogorgon in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” In the real world, shippers that don’t want to get eaten by ocean carriers are fleeing to air cargo.
Air cargo carriers can barely keep up with demand. International passenger airlines are desperate for more traffic. But the two segments are inextricably linked, for better or worse.
There’s no time for deliberation these days if you want to get high-value cargo shipped by air. It’s a strong seller’s market in the air cargo world. If you see it, book it and don’t worry about the price.
Boeing 767s are coveted by all-cargo carriers. LATAM Airlines is doing an in-house swap of passenger planes to its cargo division, which will send them to Boeing to convert into freighters.
Airfreight markets are topsy-turvy in the COVID era, but importers and exporters can count on one thing: paying two to three times normal rates. CFOs will have to increase their transport budgets if they want goods to move quickly.
Uncertain vaccine rollouts and mutant COVID-19 strains are messing up airline industry hopes for a second-half recovery this year. At best, traffic will be half that of 2019. But, at least, airlines can count on cargo shipments.
If you can’t rent an entire cargo plane for yourself, you might have trouble finding space on an aircraft to make an international shipment.
The airfreight sector is nursing itself back to health and should be discharged from intensive care by April. Find out why.
The air cargo market is doing much better than passenger business for airlines. It could reach equilibrium, following the pandemic shock, in the next few months.
New data shows cargo continued to rebound in October thanks to strong North American market and economic fundamentals. By next year, the air cargo market will be back to 2019 levels, while the passenger sector struggles to survive.
There will be more than 2,400 extra all-cargo aircraft in circulation by 2040 to support growth in global trade and e-commerce, Boeing says.
With passenger planes all but out of commission earlier this year – and still lagging considerably in the fourth quarter – shippers had significantly fewer options for moving their products across the world.
The air cargo industry is operating with an anchor tied around its waist: The absence of strong passenger service.
Making more money doing less less work. That’s air cargo in a nutshell. Volume is down from 2019, but yields are up.
Good luck finding an available aircraft to haul your goods at a reasonable price for the next three months. Competition for airlift is fierce these days. Find out why.
Companies have to spend more time trying to find cargo space for their goods with more than half the global passenger fleet still grounded by the coronavirus. The good news is carriers and logistics companies continue to add services.
Air cargo capacity is tight out of key areas in Southeast Asia, but Chinese exporters enjoyed a week of flat to lower rates as supply exceeded demand
Companies that need to move goods by air will need to increase their transportation budgets to get through the fourth quarter as low capacity ignites airfreight prices.
The air cargo market continued its recovery in July from the depths of the COVID pandemic, but is still far below last year’s results. Demand is expected to shoot up in the next few months because the holidays are coming.
Price inflation has tapered off for many – not all – air cargo markets during the second half of August. Shippers shouldn’t get used to it.
Airfreight exports from China slowed a bit in mid-August, allowing shippers to take back a tiny bit of pricing before rates shoot up for the next few months in as retailers build inventory for the holidays.
Several passenger airlines have proven that cargo can be lucrative business during a pandemic with little travel. American Airlines quickly built a dedicated cargo operation but is now throwing more resources at the business as market conditions improve.
Shipping by air got much more expensive when the coronavirus pandemic exploded in March. After moderating earlier this summer, another price spike is brewing.
Magma has a nose for cargo. It will operate a new 747 that can open its front end to load big shipments.
Shipping goods by air is expensive, especially on the biggest trade lines from China. Rates are much higher than normal for this time of year, but they are heading up more with no end in sight.
Airfreight rates from China are on the rise again. The rest of the world is more stable when it comes to air cargo. But China is driving much of the transport activity because of its export of face masks and other goods.
Airline industry officials are more pessimistic about a recovery after seeing a decline in consumer confidence and coronavirus surges in some countries. Cargo has more near-term upside, but June volumes were disappointing for carriers.
Airfreight looks like a haven for some ocean shippers that can’t find reliable, affordable transportation, but it probably won’t be that way for long because more businesses will need to move goods by air in the coming months and there aren’t enough planes.
The global airfreight market contracted during the first six months of 2020, but airlines made much more money from cargo than last year, according to World ACD.
vailable cargo space on outbound aircraft from China is starting to become scarce again. Shippers better hurry to lock up reservations for the late summer and peak season.
With safety and travel logistics in mind, the annual AirCargo Conference, which draws up to 800 attendees, will take place online in 2021.
The FAA’s ruling allowing airlines to jam more cargo in the cabin by removing passenger seats may be a pyrrhic victory. The incentive to do so may have passed.
The air freight market appears saner in recent weeks, with less competition among shippers for transport services. But the shape of the recovery is anyone’s guess and a possible demand spike for face masks and surgical gowns could create a hyper-market again.
Face shields, gloves and hand sanitizer were yesterday’s hot airfreight product. Now the cool shipments that people need right away are yoga pants, bikes and hot tubs.
It’s still a seller’s market in airfreight, but rates are finally moderating.
Airlines continue to send out SOS distress signals. The industry’s main trade association says profit margins will drop 20% this year, but the increased reliance on air cargo is helping companies stay alive and keep employees.
The airfreight market is a volatile conundrum. Overall, demand is down. But with few planes flying these days and everyone wanting a face mask, good luck finding affordable space for your shipment of auto parts or seafood.
Shanghai Pudong Airport is getting crushed by heavy cargo volumes. Add to the mix a lot of red tape for export clearance and shipments are experiencing long delays and missed flights.
The current $61 billion set-aside for the domestic airline industry left out the forwarders.
Less-than-containerload services offer forwarders and their shippers an alternative to more expensive air freight and full-container transport services, industry experts say.
Airfreight demand from China is still lower than normal this time of year, but it is finally picking up as the coronavirus scare gradually subsides. The new dynamic is reflected in higher cargo rates.
The latest statistics from airlines and airports reinforce what we already know: The air freight market is in a protracted recession. But filtering the data for seasonal fluctuations paints a slightly more optimistic picture. September marked the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year declines in freight volumes, the longest period in a decade. Freight volume, measured […]
