Eurozone crisis pushes down airfreight rates from China

Airfreight importers from
China are in the pound
seats as freight rates have
plummeted to among the
lowest levels ever.
And it’s largely thanks to
the Eurozone crisis.
“Because there’s no
direct China-South Africa
airfreight service, most cargo
is hubbed through Europe or
the Middle East,” says Dave
Graham, airfreight director
of neutral groupage operator
CFR Freight.
“In the past the red route
has always been China into
Europe – and trying to secure
that capacity has always been
a challenge. But the problems
in Europe have freed up
that capacity significantly
which has pushed rates down
dramatically in the past year
or two.”
In terms of CFR’s product
offering, the formula
has always been to offer
contracted capacity on an
extended validity basis at the
best possible rate with good
service and transit times.
“It doesn’t matter if the
market is hard or soft, that’s
the product we offer,” says
Graham.