Airfreight rates still strong in lead up to Chinese New Year, says Freightos

Airfreight rates from China rose modestly last week, with increases in Chinese export demand ahead of the upcoming shutdown in a little over two weeks for the Chinese New Year.

However, freight rates are currently well under levels seen in December, when heavy seasonal demand combined with bad weather to push shipments from Asia to Europe as high as US$7 to $10 per kilogram. Rates between China and Europe were, instead, around $2.65 to $4 per kilogram last week – an increase of between 14.3 percent and 20.5 percent from two weeks earlier, but significantly lower than the surprising doubling of typical rates during parts of December.

According to Freightos, while rates should make small gains over the next two weeks, “the highs of a month earlier are behind us for now.” On routes between Europe and the United States, the pricing platform noted that demand for airfreight transport is again nearing capacity. While some airlines had resumed airfreight promotions for routes between Europe and the U.S., last week most airlines withdrew promotions for France and Germany flights. Some promotions for United Kingdom flights continued to run last week, indicating remaining capacity on flights between the U.K. and U.S.