What is your air freight strategy for the year ahead? Demand growth, the type of capacity airlines are adding to the market, and tariffs are big trends to watch this year, according to Keith Nehring, General Manager, Air Product Development at C.H. Robinson.
"The surge in demand for air freight that took off in mid-2016 normalized in early 2018. It is likely that 2018 will end with a growth rate in the 4% range, down from 10% in 2017 (measured in freight tonne kilometers per IATA). While demand is likely to continue to increase, we expect the pace of the increase to be slower in 2019.
"Nothing in the Purchasing Managers’ Index, Inventory-Sales ratio, or consumer confidence trends would indicate an impending surge in demand. IATA announced estimated demand growth for 2019 at 3.7%, which would be the lowest growth rate since 2015. Ecommerce will continue to grow and support the air market but in other industries, the outlook is less clear."