Taiwan-based freight forwarder Dimerco is optimistic about the outlook for air cargo demand for the remainder of the year, citing continued growth in e-commerce volume. In a recent market update, the forwarder noted that in March, e-commerce shipments were increasing at airports in south China and expanding rapidly at other gateways in the country. Additionally, challenges related to the ongoing Red Sea shipping crisis and labor strikes at Lufthansa were contributing to the surge in demand, although it seems that an agreement has now been reached between workers and management.
Dimerco highlighted the increased demand for Block Space Agreements (BSAs) this year, with airlines already finalizing their BSAs for 2024 to US and European Union destinations, all of which are sold out. The senior director of global sales and marketing, Kathy Liu, emphasized that this uptick in demand is driven by the positive outlook for the e-commerce sector, signaling a promising path for the airfreight market in 2024.
In terms of specific locations, Dimerco noted that space out of Guangzhou Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao’an was tight, while the situation was more stable from other origins in China, such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. In Vietnam, backlogs are expected at main airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Out of Taiwan, there is tightening space availability, with increased demand for transhipment cargo leading to decreased export space availability for Taiwanese exports. Bookings for shipments to the US from Taiwan are fully booked until the end of March, driven by heightened shipments of e-commerce goods, AI chips, and servers.
Recent data from WorldACD also supports these findings, showing a 12% year-on-year increase in demand out of the Asia Pacific region and a 15% increase in the Middle East and South Asia for the two weeks ending March 24. Disruptions in Asia-Europe container shipping due to attacks in the Red Sea and strong e-commerce demand are continuing to boost air cargo demand from these regions.
