Freightos to launch air cargo price index

Freightos will launch an air cargo pricing index based on data from its Webcargo booking portal that it hopes will add transparency to the market.

The company said that its Freightos Air Index (FAI) would provide spot market pricing visibility and consists of a headline index of pricing across global air cargo lanes, weighted based on trade lane activity, as well as price comparisons across trade lanes, airport pairs, and weight breaks.

The index will be published each Sunday with data from the prior week.

Freightos said it hoped the index would provide price transparency in what has become a volatile market due to the Covid pandemic and capacity constraints.

“Fluctuating prices and changing capacity challenge carriers, forwarders, and importers/exporters struggling to accommodate the current freight landscape,” the booking portal explained.

Freightos chief executive Zvi Schreiber told Air Cargo News that more than 30% of air cargo capacity was now available on Webcargo, giving the company the presence required to launch an index on many trades.

In a press release, Schreiber explained: “The Digital Air Cargo revolution transformed air cargo into a modern, real-time and digitalised industry.

“eBookings on WebCargo by Freightos already encompass over 30 airlines and thousands of forwarders, with bookings growing 12X year on year. Real-time booking paves the way for real-time industry transparency.”

Matthias Mentschel, head of global warehouse and transportation at pharma firm Bayer, added: “The highly volatile air freight markets during the pandemic showed once again how important it
is to have transparency on market developments.

“Better information leads to better decisions, which in the end benefits our patients and consumers.”