Air cargo spot rates spiked on the Asia–Western Europe corridor ahead of Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across much of Asia.
Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing recorded the largest increases, with spot rates up more than 20% in the week ending 15 February compared with four weeks earlier. This likely reflects slightly longer holidays this year, and factory closures typically last several weeks.
Even though demand picked up, market feedback suggests there has been no typical Lunar New Year cargo rush this year, including for e-commerce shipments.
On other lanes, spot rates from Tokyo also jumped, up 18% over the same timeframe. In contrast, origins such as Taipei, Bangkok, and Mumbai saw small downward adjustments.
