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.