The long term loss of global air cargo to ocean over at least the past 13 years is continuing as shippers seek less costly transport solutions in ocean freight. The share of total global containerized or unitized cargo transported by air cargo declined from 3.1 percent in 2000 to 1.7 percent in 2013 and the shift will likely continue in coming years, according to new research by Seabury Group and the International Air Transport Association. The new research supports the trend detected by industry analyst Transport Intelligence, which said the air freight forwarding market in 2012 shrank 4.2 percent to $62.62 billion as a result of overcapacity, rising fuel prices and other operational costs. The Seabury/IATA study attributed about one-third of the market share loss over the past 13 years to “modal shift,” in which a product that used to be shipped by air is now shipped instead by sea or surface transport. “Commodity mix” factors and “value effects” were the other main causes, the study identified. Shipment of raw materials and perishables are the commodities most affected by the shift to ocean freight, it said. But the study said that even fashion garments, high tech and machinery parts shipments, which usually require the fast transit time of air freight, have also experienced significant shifts from air to ocean freight. Trade lanes from Asia have been hit the hardest.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 16:18:17 +0000
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