TRANSPACIFIC airfreight rates slumped in December amid reports that the US-China trade dispute was starting to hit air cargo markets.
The latest figures from Tac Index indicate that in November the average price of services from Hong Kong to North America in December dropped compared with a year earlier and for the first time since September 2016. The Tac Index figures show a 5.1 per cent year-on-year decline for the month to US$4.68 per kilogramme, London's Air Cargo News reported.
WorldACD figures for November show that air cargo volumes from China to the US dropped by five per cent year on year while in the opposite direction there was a six per cent decrease.
Despite the US later delaying plans to increase tariffs further, the move may not drive the return to a double-digit increase in air freight rates on the trade lane in January since the overall market is showing signs of a slowdown and the comparison figure for 2018 is much stronger than the 2017 equivalent.
A rush to move products before the higher tariffs were introduced mean that inventories are currently looking healthy.
Elsewhere, services between Hong Kong and Europe registered a 12.5 per cent year-on-year increase to $3.50 per kg and there was a one per cent improvement on Frankfurt-North America services to $2.97 per kg.
WORLD SHIPPING
The latest figures from Tac Index indicate that in November the average price of services from Hong Kong to North America in December dropped compared with a year earlier and for the first time since September 2016. The Tac Index figures show a 5.1 per cent year-on-year decline for the month to US$4.68 per kilogramme, London's Air Cargo News reported.
WorldACD figures for November show that air cargo volumes from China to the US dropped by five per cent year on year while in the opposite direction there was a six per cent decrease.
Despite the US later delaying plans to increase tariffs further, the move may not drive the return to a double-digit increase in air freight rates on the trade lane in January since the overall market is showing signs of a slowdown and the comparison figure for 2018 is much stronger than the 2017 equivalent.
A rush to move products before the higher tariffs were introduced mean that inventories are currently looking healthy.
Elsewhere, services between Hong Kong and Europe registered a 12.5 per cent year-on-year increase to $3.50 per kg and there was a one per cent improvement on Frankfurt-North America services to $2.97 per kg.
WORLD SHIPPING