Our reporter Qin Zhigang

"Thanks to the increase in capacity demand and freight charges brought by the e-commerce business on Asian routes, the global air cargo market continues to show a positive upward trend." The latest "Air Freight Monthly Report" released by global logistics company DHL for April pointed out that the global air cargo market that month Freight demand increased by 6% year-on-year, with demand for fashion and consumer goods driving the booming e-commerce trade in the Asia-Pacific region. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) during the same period also hit the highest level since July 2022. These all reflect the continued improvement of the world economy.

According to a DHL report, it is expected that the bellyhold capacity of wide-body passenger aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region will increase to prepare for the peak transportation season this summer. According to the flight plan, the belly capacity of wide-body passenger aircraft is expected to achieve double-digit growth compared to last summer.

Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies such as SHEIN and Temu have largely driven the development of this industry. In the last week of April, additional transportation demand pushed air spot prices from China to the United States up 14% year-on-year. In comparison, global average shipping costs fell 8% from the same period last year.

Data shows that Temu currently has 51 million U.S. customers. SHEIN’s APP has been downloaded nearly 14 million times. In addition to chartering flights and purchasing passenger aircraft bellows, rising stars such as SHEIN and Temu have adopted different logistics strategies from Amazon and other e-commerce companies. They do not store inventory in overseas warehouses or distribute from domestic warehouses. Instead, they air-ship products directly from factories in China to consumers. This not only shortens delivery time, but also makes product prices more competitive. A report released by the U.S. Congress in June last year stated that SHEIN and Temu handle nearly 600,000 packages arriving in the United States every day.

In addition to consumer goods, seasonal demand such as flower exports also drove air cargo volume growth in April. Regions such as Africa and Central and South America all saw large weekly gains during the month. The World Air Transport Development Association noted that, excluding Central and South America, 84% of the tonnage increase was attributed to increased flower exports to the United States and Canada in the run-up to Mother's Day on May 12.

Tensions in the Red Sea have stimulated demand for air cargo to a certain extent, and cargo volume has achieved double-digit growth for four consecutive months. Transit times to destinations on the US East Coast and Europe have increased by at least a week, and to destinations in the eastern Mediterranean by around two weeks, while schedule reliability is trending downward.

Air-sea options via Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are proving attractive to many shippers. As a result, spot freight rates on routes from South Asia and the Middle East to Europe have soared. However, operators relying on Dubai routes also encountered difficulties in April. Due to a rare heavy rain, the tarmac of Dubai International Airport was flooded, hundreds of flights were canceled and the airport was temporarily closed.

As Asia-Pacific trade drives regional and global economic recovery, the region's airports are also preparing to handle greater cargo volumes.

Hong Kong's air cargo hub plays an important role in global trade. Last year, Hong Kong International Airport's cargo volume increased by 3.3%, with total throughput reaching 4.3 million tons, continuing to maintain its status as the world's busiest cargo airport. Memphis Airport ranked second, followed by Shanghai, Anchorage and Incheon Airport.

To cope with growing cargo volumes, Hong Kong International Airport continues to invest in high-value and fast-growing e-commerce areas. Airport Authority Hong Kong Chairman So Chak-kwong said: "Air cargo is an important force driving the growth of Hong Kong's logistics industry and overall economic development. The Airport Authority will continue to work closely with the air cargo industry to further enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong International Airport as a global cargo hub. "