GLOBAL air cargo rates continue to increase according to air freight price reporting agency TAC Index, reports London's Air Cargo Eye
GLOBAL air cargo rates continue to increase according to air freight price reporting agency TAC Index, reports London's Air Cargo Eye. Its latest Baltic Air Freight Index (BAI) monitoring device reveals general price gains of a further 4.1 per cent in the week to 18 March, a third successive weekly increase, reducing the year-on-year decline over 12 months to minus 20.3 per cent.
Air cargo rates are once again rising strongly out of China, with the index of outbound routes from Hong Kong, for example, up by 5.9 per cent week to week.
Gains on almost all major lanes from this region have cut its year-on-year decline to only minus 7.9 per cent, the numbers show.
'Sources among forwarders are suggesting renewed robust demand for Chinese exports,' says a statement. 'Outbound Shanghai gained an even greater 8.9 per cent WoW - strong gains both to Europe and the USA further eroding the YoY decline to minus 7.6 per cent.
'Nevertheless, after recent huge gains, rates out of India now seem to be levelling off, and from Vietnam they are falling back a little,' the report said.
From Europe, the index show that routes outbound Frankfurt also fell back a little after a large increase the previous week - down 4.1 per cent week to week, mostly due to rates falling to North America, leaving the year-on-year change at minus 33.1 per cent, TAC reports.
Outbound London experienced a similar surge, but a week later with a week-to-week gain of 10.6 per cent, rates rose on all major lanes helping to reduce the decline to minus 42.4 per cent.
'From the USA, outbound Chicago saw a second successive weekly fall - with a decline of 7.7 per cent pushing its decline to a hefty minus 48.5 per cent,' it says.
'Overall rates from North America have been declining week to week both to Europe and to China, though they are still rising to South America.
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