Is the increased demand for charters a sign of good news for the cargo industry?
Over the past few weeks, Airblox has seen a significant increase in requests for charters, and with every charter request, the rates provided by carriers are increasing month over month. Currently, Airblox is trending an average of 50 million dollars of charters being negotiated, which yield better rates than pre-covid charter rates.
But what does this mean for the industry?
In his recent commentary, TAC Index’s Neil Wilson states the main factor of the recent yield decrease is the “rising capacity from dedicated new freighters and more belly hold space in passenger planes.”
The increase in freighter contracts being secured will limit the available freighter capacity. This, combined with passenger carriers moving from their summer schedule into their winter schedule, will result in a limited available capacity supply. If Neil’s assessment is correct, supply should align more with demand, a good sign a peak season will occur and yields will rebound.
Freighter operators are already sensing this shift as the rates have continued to increase, and contract length has become a large topic of discussion. Carriers are pushing back on contracts over a few months, whereas forwarders are pushing to lock in rates for an extended period of time. All these signs point to the idea that we are nearing the bottom of the yield decrease.
About Brian: Brian Kolb is the VP of Strategy at Airblox. With over a decade of experience in the air cargo industry, Brian has extensive airline and freight forwarding operations knowledge. Airblox is the only digital marketplace allowing forwarders to secure air cargo capacity months in advance. Forwarders can also benefit from its financing capabilities, giving organizations flexibility for payment options. Airblox is free to use. Anyone can create an account in minutes. Visit Airblox.com for more information.