Global air freight markets saw a pullback in the first full week of August, with chargeable weight declining from all major origins. According to WorldACD data, tonnage fell 4% week-on-week in week 32 (3-9 August), reversing a mild rally from the previous week. The steepest drops were seen from the Middle East and South Asia (-6%), followed by Europe and North America (-4%), Asia Pacific (-3%), and Africa and Central/South America (-2%). Despite the weekly dip, global traffic remained 1% above the same period last year, though Europe lagged with a 1% year-on-year decline.
Average air freight rates edged down from .96 to .95 per kg, driven largely by lower fuel costs, yet still stood 22% higher than a year ago. Global capacity also contracted 1% week-on-week. The rate environment remains volatile, with WorldACD noting that traffic has fluctuated within a narrow band over the past month, alternating between contraction and growth.
Asian export volumes were particularly weak, with chargeable weight from Asia Pacific to both Europe and the US falling 4% week-on-week. Japan was a notable exception, posting gains of 12% to the US and 3% to Europe. In contrast, shipments from Taiwan to the US dropped 11%, and Indonesia saw a 10% decline. China's airfreight tonnage fell 5%, with Shanghai's chargeable weight down 8% week-on-week, including a 12% slide on intra-Asia routes, as Typhoon Dolphin disrupted operations and forced over 1,000 flight cancellations in Shanghai alone. The port disruptions may have pushed some shippers toward air cargo, but overall volumes still suffered.
The air cargo market continues to grapple with structural shifts, particularly the removal of the de minimis exemption for e-commerce imports into the EU. WorldACD data shows China mainland-to-Europe tonnage down 8% year-on-year, while Hong Kong-to-Europe volumes plunged 29%. Maersk echoed this in its European update, noting that low-value air cargo imports into Europe have fallen nearly 33% year-on-year since the €150 duty-free threshold was scrapped, reinforcing a shift toward higher-value cargo. Meanwhile, rising rates from China and Hong Kong to Europe, coupled with falling transpacific prices, suggest freighter capacity once used for e-commerce shipments to Europe may be moving to the transpacific market.