The Transpacific air cargo trade has been buffeted by numerous market winds since the second half of 2023 and is now entering the traditional slack summer months with spot rates elevated.
After a temporary dip in March post-Lunar New Year, the eastbound corridor from Northeast Asia to the US has seen spot rates rebound by more than 30% year-on-year.
The question now is whether we will see the market follow the traditional pattern of cooling down over the summer or whether rates will remain high due to factors such as disruption to ocean freight services in the Red Sea, a still-resilient US economy and the e-commerce boom out of China.
