Consultant’s Insight: Consumers paying more for imports, exports

[caption id="attachment_76185" align="alignright" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo Next columnist[/caption] Higher interest rates and inflationary pressures continue to impact U.S. consumer spending. Today’s U.S. import and export price index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that consumers are paying more for both U.S. imports and exports. Both indices showed increases in July following declines in June. The increases were mainly attributed to higher fuel prices. The U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes measure average changes in prices of goods and services imported to or exported from the United States. Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.4% in July, following a 0.1% decline in June. The July increase in the import price index was the second monthly increase in 2023. Over the past 12 months, U.S. import prices have declined 4.4% after increasing 8.8% for the same period the year before. [caption id="attachment_57137718" align="alignnone" width="1024"] This Bureau of Labor Statistics graph shows the 12-month percentage change of all U.S. imports. (Graph/BLS)[/caption] Meanwhile, U.S. export prices increased by 0.7% in July after declining 0.7% the previous month. The jump in July was the largest monthly increase since a 1.1% rise in June 2022. [caption id="attachment_57137717" align="alignnone" width="1024"] This Bureau of Labor Statistics graph shows the 12-month percentage change of all U.S. exports. (Graph/BLS)[/caption] Of note, automotive vehicle import and export prices increased due to higher vehicle and parts prices. Shortages in vehicles and parts were felt during the pandemic and, even today, manufacturers continue to fill backorders amid persistent demand but still struggle with some parts shortages. As such, automotive vehicle import prices rose 0.3% in July. The increase was due to higher prices for passenger cars and vehicles designed to transport goods. Meanwhile, automotive vehicle export prices rose 0.2% in July, following a 0.1% increase in June. Higher parts prices drove the July advance. Those commodities that were lower in import price in July were industrial supplies, materials and consumer goods, while lower export prices were noted for consumer goods and nonagricultural foods. Airfreight import, export prices increase Import and export price indices for airfreight noted even higher increases than the overall indices, perhaps due to a bigger increase in jet fuel prices versus other fuels. The higher jet fuel price is attributed to tighter fuel supplies and higher demand as more people travel by air this summer. The import price index for airfreight increased 1.3% in July, following a 6.1% increase in June. Higher Asian airfreight prices in July offset lower European airfreight prices. The import price index for Asia increased by 8.3% from June, while it decreased for Europe by 13.6%. The import price index was down 19.3% year over year for Asia and down 29.8% YoY for Europe. The export price index for airfreight increased 1% in July after declining 3.8% in June. The Asian airfreight price index rose 1.8% from June, while Europe’s increased 4.8% from June. The export price index was down 16% YoY for Asia and up 4.8% YoY for Europe. While consumers are spending more on imports and exports, carriers and logistics providers are spending less and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. “Airfreight rates continue to decline as lower demand and excess capacity hampers the market’s recovery,” Chad Schofield , co-founder and chief digital officer for e-commerce management platform BoxC , told Air Cargo Next . “We’re seeing airfreight rates out of China on average down about 20% from a year ago going into peak season. A big factor for that has been the increase of international passenger flights increasing cargo capacity. “Even though the rates are down, they are still higher this time of year compared to pre-pandemic, which could be attributed to freighters going offline, offsetting the capacity that the passenger flights have added,” Schofield said. “We are expecting peak season rates to be lower than last year in proportion to the lower rates we are seeing now — barring any shocks to the supply chain or global black swan events.” Join Air Cargo Next for its second annual Air Cargo Tech Summit on Sept. 18-19 in Brussels, sponsored by Unisys and Brussels Airport and featuring a fireside chat with Brian Hodges, managing director, American Airlines Cargo. For more details and to register, click here .

Consultant’s Insight: Consumers paying more for imports, exports

Cargojet’s Q2 revenue declines 15%

Medium-widebody values drop, lease rates rise

Related Posts

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

Widebodies account for more than half of April’s transactions

Medium-widebody values drop, lease rates rise

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password