Airfreight rates to the U.S. plateaued in mid-August after rising for more than a month, influenced by a drop in demand from South China and passenger airlines temporarily adding more capacity. Still, finding affordable air transport in Southeast Asia, writ large, is difficult.
The dip freight activity isn’t expected to last long as retailers gin up shipments for the peak season buildup to the holidays.
Shippers paid $0.02 cents less per kilo for air transport from China to the U.S., with a $0.34 price drop from Shanghai nearly canceled out by a $0.30 hike in outbound Hong Kong rates.