Airfreight rates continued to track ahead of last year’s levels in May, although there was a decline compared with April levels.
The latest Drewry's Sea Air & Shipper Insight report shows that the average all-in airfreight buy rate across 21 major east-west routes increased by 5.3% year on year in May to reach $2.78 per kg.
While prices are up on a year ago, they are down on April when airlines were able to achieve a rate of $2.87 per kg as a result of declines on the transpacific.
Looking ahead, a Drewry consultant said the analyst expected an improvement in June: “Drewry’s East-West Airfreight Price Index dropped by 3.1% month-on-month in May due to lower rates on the Asia to North America route. The index is now about 5.3% above the same month last year, indicating strong underlying market fundamentals. Drewry expects airfreight rates to rebound in June,” he said.
