Transatlantic rates on the up while Asia lanes continue to improve

Airfreight prices on the transatlantic trade lane returned to growth in August, while major Asian trades continued to report improvements.
The latest figures from TAC Index show that average prices on services from Frankfurt to North America increased by 11.1% year on year in August to reach $2.31 per kg.
The improvement comes after July saw a decrease in prices compared with last year and June saw only a small increase.
Contacts have said the trade lane’s rate performance in June and July is a reflection of carriers adding capacity for the summer tourist peak.
More recently, forwarders have been reporting a tightening of space on the trade lane.  In a customer circular Dachser said capacities on the route are “already being heavily utilised”.
Meanwhile, rates on services out of Asia continued to increase as a result of demand improvements.
On services from Hong Kong to the US, prices were up 24% year on year to $3.21 per kg. There was a decline on July’s levels, but rates over the summer tend to be fairly static ahead of the peak season rush.
Click on chart for interactive version

On Hong Kong-Europe services there was an 18.8% increase in airfreight rates to $2.21 per kg but prices were down slightly on July.
In September rates are expected to increase again as the peak season approaches.
There are also several mobile phone launches during the month, including the latest Apple iPhone.
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