News / Air freight rates: 'a small imbalance of supply and demand can have a large impact'

Shippers planning to use air freight should take the time to study load factors (LF), which reveal a tipping point for rate changes.

Research from Clive Data Services, which uniquely calculates dynamic load factors based on volume and weight, shows that when aircraft utilisation rises to around 80%, rates jump, while they drop a similar amount when load factors fall below that.

“There is a tipping point at around 80%, which creates a different dynamic and changes the negotiation. It’s the point ...