Company News

Air cargo volumes remain low with peak season volumes unlikely to increase, according to DHL Global Forwarding’s November 2022 ‘Air Freight State of the Industry’ Report.

“Volumes (are) expected to witness flat growth even in first two quarters in 2023,” said the report.

Most of the major trade lanes experienced year-on-year declines in volume, and any increase in volumes will only happen after stronger economies have started to recover, anticipated in the second half of 2023.

Export orders remain low as inventories remain full and shippers are focusing more on short-term refill.

The bright spot in the report is that e-commerce movements are expected to increase around the end of Nov and Dec.

“Demand continued to remain low on most trade lanes and is likely to follow this trend into 2023,” said DHL.

Industry issues affecting demand include reduced ocean freight cost that is resulting in a shift in transport mode from air to sea; and worldwide high inflation that is set to continue into 2023, said DHL.

The German logistics company said overall capacity is sufficient to support current demand levels.

Resumption of passenger travel has improved belly capacity as new schedules are announced by airlines.

Globally, rates are below the level of last year despite the effects of higher fuel prices, said DHL.  

Jet fuel price likely to remain high with current sanctions and expected production cut

DHL sourced its report data from IATA, Seabury, WorldACD Market Data, and DGF Desk Research.