Volatile air freight rates making 2019 market difficult for forwarders to read
Forwarders are deploying wildly different strategies in an air cargo market that so far this ...
Airfreight rates remained resilient through Chinese New Year, with Drewry’s East-West Airfreight Price Index reporting its lowest-ever monthly margin decline in January.
Rates fell just 0.13 cents in the month – compared with 24 cents in 2016 and 29 cents in 2015 – to hold above the $3 mark, at $3.01, and 32 cents ahead of where they were in January 2016.
Drewry Sea & Air Shipper Insight says the limited fall indicates improving stability in the market, despite the rate itself being the second-lowest on record for January – January 2016 was $2.69.
While January proved positive, Drewry said it expected a small seasonal decline this month, reflecting rates quoted on the latest TAC Index on 6 February.
TAC quoted Hong Kong-US rates at $3.21, compared with $3.24 in January. Hong Kong-Europe rates fell 33 cents between January and February to $2.13 compared with $2.46 a month earlier.
Neither WorldACD nor IATA have published their January figures yet.
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