The rising price of fuel has put extra pressure on the airfreight sector, according to Jacob Pretorius, SACO CFR general manager for airfreight.“The logistics sector at large has been feeling the price hike,” he told Freight News. “Fuel increases are currently dominating the airfreight market. The war in Ukraine has been putting a lot of strain on airfreight rates.”He said the increase in cost ultimately led to an increase in rates which the air cargo sector could ill afford at present.“The overall increase in cost also has an impact on capacity,” said Pretorius. “Due to the increase in the cost of f lying, we might not get as many international visitors during the summer period. We need tourists so that the airlines add more capacity into South Africa so that there is more space for cargo.”The lockdown currently under way in China was another ongoing challenge. “The market is under pressure because of this lockdown,” said Pretorius. “As soon as the Chinese market opens up again we will see a big increase in volumes. We don’t foresee the sea freight market being able to keep up with this demand and it will spill over to airfreight.”Pretorius warned that the airfreight sector would remain constrained over the next few months due to the high space demand and limited capacity. “We are also still battling with the impact of the Covid pandemic on our industry. The airfreight market is not easy at the moment. Everyone is fighting for the available space to offer a reliable service to their customers.”But, he said, the long-term outlook was positive. “We are excited about the outlook and are working on developing several new service of fer ings.”This included a new US product with its partners in the ACG network. “We are also working on adding more space from several European countries,” said Pretorius.
