The airfreight sector finds itself in an unusual situation, according to market research firm Transport Intelligence (Ti).
In a recent report on airfreight rates, Ti found that comparing past performance of the market to the current situation did not fully explain the dynamics of what was happening.
“Although the overall level of demand in the market appears strong, this disguises wide variations on different routes,” reads the report.
“The salient development in terms of stimulating demand continues to be the activities of the Chinese internet retailers. The trajectory of these shippers is hard to fully understand as they appear to be particularly focused on using airfreight rather than sea freight to service markets in Europe and North America.”
Despite this, the exact demand that the retail sector will place on airfreight in 2025 remains uncertain, especially as challenges surrounding sea freight continue to ease.
Chinese export activity continues to be frantic but also uncertain, while demand in the rest of the world is variable.
According to Ti, while extreme factors drove demand and led to exceptional growth levels in 2024, this by no means indicated that the airfreight market was stable.
- Read the full article in our latest Freight Features edition. "Airfreight" is available from Friday, 17 January.
