Air freight rates will remain high during the summer off-season
As May progressed, air freight prices have dropped, but this is unlikely to mean that they will begin to return to pre-coronavirus levels.
The latest data from the Baltic Air Cargo Index (BAI) shows that the freight from Hong Kong to North America rose from US$8.48 per kilogram in April to US$8.70 per kilogram in May.
The price from Hong Kong to Europe has risen from US$4.61 per kilogram last month to US$4.73.
However, with the passage of time, the transaction prices in Hong Kong and Europe have weakened, and the transaction prices in Hong Kong and Europe closed at 7.70 US dollars and 4.41 US dollars, respectively.
, Bruce Chan, vice president of global logistics business at investment bank Stifel, said in the Baltic Exchange (Baltic Exchange) market comprehensive market that, as this month progresses, this downward trend is unlikely to mean that the epidemic will return to its previous level.
He said that due to the slow launch of the vaccination program and the emergence of new variants, the belly capacity of international flights is still sluggish.
At the same time, due to high consumption, low inventories and continued supply chain disruptions, even in the off-season in summer, demand remains strong.
Chen said: "We believe that the current supply and demand trends will drive high interest rates through the peak season until 2022."
"We believe that the goods-service rotation that many people had expected to slow down freight growth in the second half of 2021 is unlikely to happen.
"On the one hand, it can be said that the increase in the savings rate during the pandemic should act as a shock absorber for consumption.
On the other hand, service industry expenditures do consume freight capacity-for example, products, seafood or equipment used to support concerts and trade shows.
"At some point, capacity and rates will return to normal. Violence during decompression is a topic of future debate, but from the perspective of air cargo, 2021 will still be an expensive year."
Statistics released by CLIVE Data Services show that after a stronger performance in the first four months, demand in May has fallen compared with the same period in 2019.