Air cargo carriers continued to see airfreight rates improve in April compared with a year earlier.
According to the latest figures from data provider Tac Index, carriers offering cargo capacity on services from Hong Kong to North America saw prices increase by 14.8% year on year in April to $3.65 per kg.
While prices on the trade improved compared with a year ago, they were flat on March levels, a reflection of the sector entering the summer quiet period before demand ramps up again in late summer ahead of the peak season.
Prices on this trade are also ahead of the level recorded in both April 2016 and 2015, reflecting the continuing strength of demand over the past couple of years.
It was a similar story on services from Hong Kong to Europe where there was a 14.1% year on year increase in April’s average prices to $2.50 per kg.
This is also a slight improvement on the $2.44 per kg achieved in March – a reflection of seasonal trends – and is up on April 2016 levels.
However, it is seven cents behind the $2.57 per kg levels reported by Tac Index in April 2015.
Finally, the Frankfurt-North America trade saw prices increase by 13.3% year on year in April to $2.90 per kg.
This is down on the March figure, which reflects carriers beginning to increase capacity on the transatlantic for the passenger season while demanded remains flat during the summer period.
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