The airfreight industry is recovering from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and is up 10% compared to 2019. This growth is mainly fuelled by China, North America and Europe. Additionally, as the shipping industry struggles with container shortages and port constraints, manufacturers, importers and exporters are switching to airfreight solutions to avoid the bottleneck.
“During the last 18 months, we have experienced an imbalance in the global market,” observed Kristine. “The congestion build-ups in the sea freight market have led to a high demand for air transport. Raw materials, machinery, hi-tech and automotive are among the strongest growing industries and commodities that have seen such changes versus 2019.”
“Having access to capacity is key in the current market and serving our customers with hard block agreements and dedicated space on commercial aircraft combined with full and part charters has been a success for us during the pandemic.”
Kristine adds that due to speed and reliability airfreight is a crucial mode of transport in a company’s supply chain, especially for mission-critical shipments. “While only 2 to 3% of the total cargo volumes globally are transported by air, this still accounts for 35% of the total cargo value transported each year. E-commerce is one of the main drivers in the air cargo industry and +20% of the air cargo volumes in 2022 is expected to come from the e-commerce market.”
Lately, she has observed an increased interest in alternative transport solutions like rail and sea-air combinations, which are not only faster than ocean and cheaper than air freights, but also reduce the Co2 emission by a whopping 50%. To broaden her horizon and profit from the high focus on the logistics industry, she has decided to pursue the Blue MBA education.
