The many weeks of positive airfreight numbers during the 2014 peak season, inflated somewhat by the ongoing West Coast port crisis, were reflected in the latest figures from WorldACD, showing worldwide volume growth of 4.3 percent, compared to the previous November.
All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa Cargo AG have begun an air cargo joint venture on Japan-Europe routes that they applied for in September. The first shipment was sent by forwarder Schenker-Seino Co. Ltd. It was booked via Lufthansa Cargo and was transported by ANA on flight number NH 277 from Tokyo to London.
An agreement between Mexico and the United States, scheduled to become effective by Jan. 1, 2016, would remove all limits on the number of airlines that can provide passenger or cargo service between destinations in both countries. If enacted, the new policy would allow new carriers to enter the market, while carriers already in the market would have the freedom to fly to new cities.
In an announcement that sent waves of protest throughout the freight forwarding industry, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a plan late last month to move most of the air cargo operations out of New York City's JFK International Airport and relocate them about 80 miles northwest to Stewart International (SWF) in the lower Hudson Valley. Negative reaction to the proposal was swift.
Airfreight rates from Asia to North America and Europe are expected to rise through to the end of the year following four months of stable pricing, according to the recently expanded Sea & Air Shipper Insight report published by shipping consultancy Drewry.
Even in the worst-case scenario, there will be a rising demand for freighter aircraft over the next 20 years, according to the most recent forecast by Seattle's Air Cargo Management Group (ACMG).