Transpacific freighter capacity dropped 40 per cent after US suspended the $800 de minimis exemption for China and Hong Kong shipments, Mumbai's Stat Trade Times reports.
About 60 widebody freighters were sidelined in early May; 4,000 tonnes/day of capacity vanished nearly overnight.
E-commerce air cargo - 55 per cent of China-US volume in 2024 - collapsed as shippers pivoted to ocean freight and US warehouses.
By mid-May, capacity had rebounded 22 per cent, now only 14 per cent below pre-de minimis levels, as airlines cautiously return aircraft to service.
Aevean's Marco Bloemen says current demand is driven by front-loading ahead of a 90-day US-China tariff pause.
Not all goods face the new tariffs; high-tech items like phones and laptops are still exempt.
Tim van Leeuwen of Rotate noted that no other global lane can absorb displaced transpacific freighters, though some shifted to Latin America ahead of Mother's Day.
SeaNews Turkey
About 60 widebody freighters were sidelined in early May; 4,000 tonnes/day of capacity vanished nearly overnight.
E-commerce air cargo - 55 per cent of China-US volume in 2024 - collapsed as shippers pivoted to ocean freight and US warehouses.
By mid-May, capacity had rebounded 22 per cent, now only 14 per cent below pre-de minimis levels, as airlines cautiously return aircraft to service.
Aevean's Marco Bloemen says current demand is driven by front-loading ahead of a 90-day US-China tariff pause.
Not all goods face the new tariffs; high-tech items like phones and laptops are still exempt.
Tim van Leeuwen of Rotate noted that no other global lane can absorb displaced transpacific freighters, though some shifted to Latin America ahead of Mother's Day.
SeaNews Turkey
