This article is written by Austin Garcia
The global air freight market faces big challenges.
The “Shein and Temu Effect” on Air Cargo
E-commerce giants are changing air freight. Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop lead this change.
Huge Volume and Strain: These companies ship many packages. They send nearly 600,000 daily to the U.S. alone. This goes direct from Chinese factories. They use air cargo for speed. Reports say they need 88 to 108 Boeing 777 freighters daily. This pressures available space.
No More Off-Peak Seasons: These companies ship constantly. This removes traditional “off-peak” times for air freight. Demand stays high. Prices rise. In June, a low season, air freight rates rose 40%. Spot prices from Southern China to the U.S. doubled.
Logistical Problems: In the U.S., orders are huge. Their packaging is often bulky. This challenges carriers like USPS. It causes handling problems. Customers get delayed or lost packages.
Pandemic and Market Changes
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly changed air freight.
Disruption and Upheaval: The pandemic caused big problems. Shipping by sea and air faced disruptions. Freight rates were very unstable. Deliveries saw widespread delays.
Air Cargo Capacity Shift: Many passenger flights stopped during COVID-19. This cut “belly cargo” space. Airlines changed passenger planes to “preighters.” These planes carried mostly freight. More dedicated freighters are being used. But replacing lost belly capacity is still happening.
Market Adapts: Global economies are recovering. The air freight market is changing. New safety steps are in place. Routes are optimized. Capacity adjusts to demand. Yet, e-commerce giants keep pushing these changes.
Global Growth and Market Shifts
Fast e-commerce expansion puts more pressure on air cargo. It also changes what customers expect.
New Customer Expectations: Companies like Temu disrupt markets. They offer very low prices. They also give fast delivery. This sets new standards for speed. It also resets affordability for online cross-border shopping. This increases demand for air cargo.
More International Demand: Their global growth is strong. Subscribers in Korea grew tenfold. Japan has many monthly users. This means more air cargo demand worldwide. This is especially true on key routes from Asia.
TradeFlex Helps You Navigate This
This environment is dynamic and tough. Businesses need strategic partners. They need to optimize supply chains, manage costs and, ensure compliance. TradeFlex offers services for these complex issues.
- Business Model Analysis: We help businesses understand market shifts. We see their specific impacts. We develop custom strategies.
- Manufacturing Management: We help adapt production. We also help with sourcing. This eases pressure from higher freight costs. It also helps with capacity limits.
- Duty Tariff Optimization: Our experts help lower import duties. We analyze product classifications. We use tariff engineering. We also use free trade agreements.
- Compliance Management: We help with international trade laws. We ensure compliance. We help avoid penalties. We make customs clearance smooth. We ensure accurate paperwork.
- Supply Chain Engineering: We optimize your entire supply chain. We reduce costs. We improve efficiency. We focus on product design. We look at sourcing choices. These impact tariff liabilities.
- Cross-Border Solutions: We make goods move efficiently. This means compliant and cost-effective movement. We specialize in Mexico. We have over 30 years of expertise there. We help businesses “land softly in Mexico.”
Partner with TradeFlex. You can reduce financial and logistical challenges. These come from the changing air freight market.
Come work with us today! Visit https://trade-flex.com
