WorldACD Weekly Air Cargo Trends (week 49) - 2024

Global air cargo average spot rates rose by a further +4% in the first full week of December to a 2024 high of US$3.30 per kilo, driven by a +8% surge from Asia Pacific origins, as the sector’s strong but relatively stable fourth-quarter (Q4) peak season approaches its zenith.

According to the latest figures and analysis by WorldACD Market data, average spot rates from Asia Pacific origins rose to $4.86 per kilo in week 49 (2 to 8 December), thanks to that +8% week-on-week (WoW) increase, taking them +19% above their levels in the same week last year. Spot rates from Africa origins also rose by +12%, WoW, partly in response to a surge in traffic to European markets, based on the more than 450,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. And there was a further +3% increase from Europe origins to $2.93 per kilo, boosted by a +4% WoW increase from Europe origins to North America, taking average rates to $3.97 per kilo on that westbound transatlantic lane.

Tonnages, worldwide, were stable in week 49, with a slight (+1%) WoW increase, mainly driven by a +14% WoW rebound in volumes from North America origins (+15% from US), following the Thanksgiving holiday period in the US. But there were also significant WoW tonnage increases from China to the US and to Europe, which helped drive up spot prices on those markets by +10% and +12%, WoW, to $6.83/kg and $5.52/kg, respectively.

Asia to Europe spot rates surge

Alongside that +12% spike from China to Europe, Taiwan to Europe spot prices rose +20%, WoW, in week 49 to $4.76 per kilo, and there were further WoW increases from Japan (+3%), Vietnam (+3%), Thailand (+4%), and Malaysia (+3%). Hong Kong to Europe rates dipped slightly (-1%), but have been significantly elevated in the last two weeks, standing at $6.22/kg. And compared to last year, there are some really big year-on-year (YoY) increases in spot prices to Europe, particularly from Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia (+94%), Thailand (+67%), Malaysia (+50%), Singapore (+42%), and Vietnam (+30%), while Taiwan to Europe spot prices are currently +62% higher, YoY. The YoY spot rate increases to Europe from China (+18%), Hong Kong (+7%) and South Korea (+14%) are less pronounced than from some of those Southeast Asian markets, although rates from China and Hong Kong, particularly, were already highly elevated this time last year, boosted by surging cross-border e-commerce volumes.

Compared with last year, average worldwide spot rates in week 49 were up +21%, YoY, led by a +62% increase from Middle East & South Asia (MESA) origins, and +19% YoY increases from Asia Pacific and Europe.