According to Freight Waves' report on May 14, the global air freight market has experienced unexpectedly strong momentum in the first half of 2024. After the Spring Festival in February this year, the air freight volume in China did not decline as expected by industry insiders, but instead remained strong. The main factors driving this trend are Asian exporters changing their transportation methods due to slow maritime shipping in the Red Sea conflict region, and Chinese e-commerce platforms fulfilling a large number of orders for Europe and North America.
According to data from the rate benchmark platform Xeneta, air freight demand in April increased by 11% year-on-year, marking four consecutive months of growth. The International Air Transport Association also released related data, indicating that in the first quarter of 2024, air freight tonnage has been growing at a double-digit rate for five consecutive months, solidifying the recovery trend since 2022. This momentum has continued into early May, with freight volumes increasing by 12% to 16% year-on-year.
The e-cigarette business and e-cigarette are two product categories dominating the Chinese air export market. Fast fashion manufacturers and market platforms like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress have become so popular that they do not have traditional retailers' slow seasons. According to the latest monthly update data from Dimerco, e-commerce accounts for 50% of the total air exports from China, with 70% of exports by air from Hong Kong and 50% from Shanghai being small parcels.
Since the beginning of this year, global manufacturing has experienced a slight expansion, with new export orders approaching the growth threshold. According to the Supply Management Association, the order-to-inventory ratio has continued to rise this year, supporting logistics demand. The World Trade Organization stated this week that global merchandise trade is expected to decline by 1.2% in 2023, but will grow by 2.6% this year.
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