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Container capacity has been stretched by demand and the longer routings to avoid the Red Sea, resulting in extended transits reducing available capacity. And the differential between air and ocean cargo rates has dropped significantly in recent months.

Air freight operators have seen a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions, with a 25% increase compared to 2019, according to a recent analysis by the campaign group Stand.earth. The study reveals that in 2023, air freight operators conducted approximately 300,000 more flights than in 2019, marking an almost 30% rise in flight volume. The United States alone accounted for over 40% of global air freight emissions.

Insights Stable Logistics Activity: The UK's logistics activity index is expected to remain steady throughout 2024.

Freight Projections: Road freight is projected to stay consistent, while both sea and air freight are showing significant signs of recovery.

Economic Outlook: 38% of respondents anticipate economic improvement in the sector.

Sector Focus: Emphasis is placed on technology, decarbonisation, and the need for government support in infrastructure and regulations.

When chatgpt took everyone by storm in November 2022, it was Openai, the startup behind it, that seized the business world’s attention. But, as usual, big tech is back on the front foot. Nvidia, maker of accelerator chips that are at the core of generative artificial intelligence (ai), is duelling with Microsoft, a tech giant of longer standing, to be the world’s most valuable company. Like Microsoft, it is investing in a diverse ecosystem of startups that it hopes will strengthen its lead. Predictably, given the “techlash” mindset of the regulatory authorities, both firms are high on the watch list of antitrust agencies.

“Rates are going bonkers on the sea, and crazy rates can lead to unreliable services – which is good for airfreight. The air cargo industry is not really in control of its own destiny, it has ups and downs, but just imagine if ecommerce wasn’t there.”

An airfreight forwarder in Shanghai added: “I have personally not yet seen any declines in the e-commerce business, even after the news that US and EU Customs are checking small parcels out of China more strictly.

Air cargo volumes remain elevated from major Asian and Middle Eastern origins, especially to Europe, amid cascading effects on port productivity resulting from the effective closure of container lines’ Red Sea shortcut because of the Middle East conflict.

According to a new report from BDO, the UK continues to be a top destination for global investment, with renewed interest in logistics and supply chain management businesses.

The India to Europe air cargo market has experienced a surge in volumes since the beginning of this year.

This has been largely due to demand in apparel exports from India and Sri Lanka coinciding with disruptions to ocean freight services in the Red Sea region, which saw shippers switch transportation mode to air for some of their cargo.

These increased general air cargo volumes drove overall air cargo demand in the week ending 25 February to sit 40% higher than the 2019 weekly average. While volumes have dipped slightly since then, in the week ending 24 March they remained 24% above the 2019 weekly average.

Logistics UK has reiterated its call for the creation of a dedicated logistics and supply chain minister following the announcement of a general election in the country on July 4.

The business group urged all political parties to include the organisation’s call for the appointment of a minister for logistics and supply chain by the UK’s next government in their election manifestos.