The air freight market recorded a 24% increase in average spot rates

The global air cargo market continued its hot period of double-digit demand growth in August, with average spot rates recording the largest year-on-year increase of 24%, according to Xenet’s latest weekly analysis.

Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, average global air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to the ongoing supply-demand imbalance. This came as global cargo supply in August grew at the slowest rate in 2024 to date, up 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, up 11%.

The second reason for higher rates was a shift in cargo volume from sea to air, driven by disruptions in the Red Sea and demand from e-commerce.

These factors could soon be reinforced as e-commerce continues to show strong growth heading into the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and exports of low-value goods from China in the first seven months of 2024 grew by 30% year-on-year, with shipments to Europe and the US up 38% and 30%, respectively, Xeneta said.

“Typically, the air cargo market performance in August follows the July trend. However, another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate increases of the year means that 2024 was definitely not a summer downtime season,” Niall van de Wouw, air freight director at Xeneta, said in a statement.

“Rates, which bottomed out at the end of July, started to rise again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. It was a busy summer and now that we are on the threshold of the fourth quarter, it will be interesting to see what happens and whether all the expectations for a hot peak season materialize,” van de Wouw said.