Dimerco Express Group reports peak season demand shifting to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, creating capacity constraints at key transit hubs
Dimerco Express Group has highlighted that peak season demand this year will centre on trade out of Southeast Asia following the tariff-induced shift away from China.
In the forwarder's Asia Pacific Freight Report for October, Kathy Liu, Dimerco's vice president global sales and marketing, said that demand growth will be particularly focused on four countries.
"September to November is always the peak season for airfreight. This year, demand growth is more focused on Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore," said Liu.
"With high-tech, AI, and semiconductor production increasing in these countries, more finished goods are being shipped out. As a result, we expect capacity pressure at major transit hubs including Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea."
Dimerco said Thailand’s airfreight market is expected to tighten in October, with limited space and rising rates driven by e-commerce demand and the peak season.
Although the forwarder is optimistic about trade out of Vietnam, it said China’s pre-Golden Week peak is weaker than expected for the country.
Dimerco did not comment on Malaysia specifically, but indicated shippers may be turning towards airfreight shipping over ocean out of Kuala Lumpur, as seaports have been experiencing unstable shipping schedules with more blank sailings expected from carriers.
For Singapore, the quarter-end backlog from September will roll into October and this will strain capacity, stressed Dimerco. Key transit hubs, especially Taipei, are expected to be heavily impacted.
Super Typhoon Ragasa struck the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong on 23-24 September, causing widespread flight cancellations in South China and Hong Kong.
Earlier this week, Air Cargo News reported that air cargo supply chains out of Asia had been in recovery mode in recent days following the impact of the typhooon but faced the pre-Golden week rush and backlogs caused by the temporary closure of Asia-Europe rail operations.
"Backlogs at Hong Kong, a key transit hub, are unlikely to clear before mid-October," warned Dimerco.
At the recent Caspian Air Cargo Summit, Aevean’s Marco Bloemen highlighted how air cargo trade lanes have rapidly shifted this year as a result of US tariffs and the country’s decision to end the de minimis exemption. China to US volumes have decreased, while China to Europe volumes have increased.
