Geopolitical crises and infrastructure challenges pushed air and sea sales up in 2024, both globally and in South Africa.Andre Koekemoer, director for airfreight Middle East and Africa at DSV, said there had been double-digit demand growth for airfreight throughout the year, mostly driven by the Red Sea crisis, which caused a modal shift from ocean to air, while e-commerce was continuing to drive airfreight growth.The South African market grew by +10% based on latest Air Cargo Operators Committee statistics (combined imports and exports). The Red Sea crisis was a contributory factor, as was the Durban port situation where congestion – caused by high cargo volumes, limited infrastructure, equipment breakdowns and logistical inefficiencies – triggered significant airfreight volumes.While the automotive vertical, historically one of the largest contributors to airfreight volumes in South Africa, has struggled recently, Koekemoer anticipates continued growth in the pharma and hi-tech verticals “due to the nature of the product and suitability to air travel, and g row ing dema nd ”.Assessing trends more broadly, Koekemoer said sustainability was becoming increasingly important for customers around the world, and DSV remained committed to meeting the needs of today’s global supply chains without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Koekemoer said e-commerce continued to play an important role, and had recently impacted capacity, “with all the carriers positioning their freighters in China and the Far East in general, and this often restricted us moving freighter cargo into and out of certain regions”. DSV is expecting global air trade to normalise in 2025 following the e-commerce and Red Sea shipping crisis-fuelled volume growth of this year.In terms of DSV’s plans for 2025, specifically referring to inbound freight into South Africa, Koekemoer said the company would “continue to focus on our consolidation services and utilise our gateways from all the regions. By consolidating and signing seasonal allotments with the carriers, we are able to provide service stability to our customers and also longer-term predictability on capacity and rates. We also continue to drive vertical-specific solutions which adds value to our customers”.Looking at industry challenges, Koekemoer said geopolitical issues would always present challenges. The Red Sea issue was a typical example of airfreight benefiting from disruption to maritime shipping, while political upheavals presented their own challenges. Koekemoer cited the recent unrest in Niger, which had resulted in their airspace closing down. Certain EU carriers had to f ly a longer route around Niger, which also impacted capacity and rates. Other challenges on the horizon include the imbalance between demand and capacity as Boeing and Airbus struggle to keep up with current demand.Koekemoer said airfreight growth would suffer if capacity “becomes constrained and rates increase too much. In such a scenario, certain commodities are just not viable to f ly at high-rate levels, and this would include perishable exports out of South Africa”. LV
