During a roundtable panel discussion at the 8th annual Cargo Facts Asia Symposium held last week in Shanghai, executives from Flexport and Polar Air Cargo were optimistic on the prospects of a rebound for Asian Air Cargo.

Recognizing the “depressing story” that has unfurled during the first quarter of 2019, Neel Jones Shah, EVP & Global Head of Airfreight, Flexport, said he believes the market will recover in the second half of the year.

“As shippers tried to beat the tariffs, they brought in a lot of product they didn’t need. As those levels get drawn down, you first start seeing the ocean volumes pick up, then the ocean-to-air conversions will start, and hopefully, we’ll have a pretty good second half of the year,” said Shah.

Cautioning over the difficulty of making annual comparisons between 2018 and 2019 because of the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, Kersti Krepp, VP Sales & Marketing, Asia-Pacific, Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, said growth indicators were promising. “The US economy remains robust and strong, and the consumer in Asia seems to have a very positive outlook,” said Krepp.

Check out highlights from Shah and Krepp’s discussion below, which is part of a special video series sponsored by ATR.