Major trade lanes 'everywhere' are clogged and unsatisfied demand has caused backlogs even for routes that traditionally have excess capacity at this time, with shippers realising only now that they will have to pay premium prices for Christmas deliveries - and perhaps for much longer after that.

Danske Bank Markets says its European Freight Forwarding Airfreight index indicates demand will continue to increase for some months.

 

Freight corridors showing solid growth include South-east Asia-North America, South-east Asia-Europe, Europe-Japan & Korea and Europe-North America. China-Europe rail services and many sea lanes also are busy.

 

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says AP demand is outstripping capacity increases. International air cargo traffic demand grew by 10.1 per cent over the first 10 months of 2017, said Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general.