FedEx has expanded its parcel pickup and drop-off network in Poland with an alliance with the Żabka store chain. Customers now have access to over 12,000 new locations to send and receive shipments, bringing the number of FedEx service points in Poland to over 16,000.
Polish consumers are particularly active internet users, says the carrier, with 78% of whom have shopped online at least once in a lifetime and the 23 million Polish consumers who use e-shop services demand delivery experiences that align with their daily routines.
FedEx vice president operations, Nordics and Eastern Europe, Mariusz Mik, says: “Our expanded pickup and drop-off network in Poland gives consumers more choices, convenience, and control over their shipments, while enabling our partners to build scalable, customer-centric logistics solutions.”
The Żabka stores can handle shipments up to 50 × 40 × 30 cm and 20 kg. In the initial phase, they offer domestic services, but international options are planned. The network also supports returns.
FedEx also offers pickup and drop-off services at over 4,000 additional locations, including Kolporter, Epaka, Furgonetka, Delikatesy Centrum, ABC, Groszek, Duży Ben, Stokrotka Express and Shell outlets.
Pointpack S.A., a provider of IT solutions and service infrastructure for the retail and courier sectors, managed the technical implementation of Żabka’s integration into the FedEx network.
Korean Air has commissioned German-based Lödige Industries to modernise its cargo terminal at New York JFK Airport.
Originally opened in December 2000, the terminal is one of the largest cargo facilities in the eastern US, with a total warehouse floor area of 17,065 m² and an annual handling capacity of 200,000 tons.
The work includes advanced automated systems with two fully automated Elevating Transfer Vehicles (ETVs), enabling more efficient and higher-capacity ULD handling. Fixed transfer vehicles will be removed and replaced with Cargo Pallet Movers and a total of 14 workstations will also be replaced with modern equipment.
Enhancements to Cool Chain facilities encompass a new refrigerated warehouse as well as upgrades to the existing facilities. In the four current temperature-controlled warehouse areas, temperature controllers, roller conveyors, and shutters, among other components.
Korean Air Cargo regional manager, Junho Choi, said: “JFK is our gateway for cargo services along the East Coast and a key hub in our growing global network. By modernizing the terminal with state-of-the-art automation technology, we are ensuring long-term efficiency, higher safety standards, and increased sustainability of our operations.”
Oman Air Cargo is to launch a new passenger and cargo route from Muscat to Kigali, Rwanda, route, operated by B-737 aircraft from June 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. It is expected to support the movement of fresh produce, pharmaceuticals, general cargo and express shipments originating in East Africa. and onward connections are available in Muscat to the Middle East, Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
Global air cargo demand finished a tumultuous 2025 on a high with volumes up +6% year-on-year in December, but flatlining e-commerce shipments ex-China will create concern for airlines and forwarders reliant on consumers’ online buying sprees, say industry analysts Xeneta.
Better-than-expected volumes over the last quarter of the year helped air cargo demand record +4% growth in chargeable weight year-on-year for 2025, reflecting many shippers’ willingness to shift away from other modes to the speed and reliability of air cargo during times of disruption and economic uncertainty.
2025 had “something for everyone,” said Xeneta chief airfreight officer, Niall van de Wouw, with service providers benefitting from higher volumes than expected earlier in the year, and shippers gaining from lower rates in the second half of the year.
Having predicted up to +4% market demand growth for 2025, Xeneta sees a more cautious outlook for 2026, forecasting a slightly more modest +2-3% rise in volumes this year.
Price to pay in 2026?
After +11% growth in 2024 and market resilience seen in 2025, van de Wouw says there might be “a price to pay” for air cargo volumes in the coming year.
“Everybody had some doom and gloom about 2025 when the US started announcing tariffs, but the uncertainty helped airfreight. The market held up better than many expected as trade patterns shifted – buffeted by the return of Trump tariffs and de minimis bans for e-commerce shipments in the US, and the fading boost from Red Sea-related ocean freight diversions,” van de Wouw said.
“But with many questions remaining over trade, and geopolitical tension adding a further layer of uncertainty, I personally think something has to give in 2026 from a volume perspective – and that means there’s going to be more in it for shippers in terms of lower rates,” he added.
Despite demand growth towards the end of last year, average global airfreight rates have been below their 2024 levels in recent months. This trend continued in December as, once again, demand outpaced the +5% growth in supply. Global airfreight rates fell -4% year-on-year to average USD 2.83 per kg, slightly less pronounced than November’s -5% decline, suggesting the slide may be easing, but not reversing.
Less buoyant signals for e-commerce
What happens next will be heavily influenced by e-commerce, with shippers in China, Europe, and elsewhere facing higher delivery costs.
Van de Wouw said: “One of the tailwinds for air cargo demand growth in 2025 came from investment linked to the development of artificial intelligence solutions. This supported flows of high-value goods and is expected to continue. In contrast, the less buoyant forward-looking signals for e-commerce, particularly Chinese cross-border e-commerce exports, are worrying.”
Chinese customs data shows low-value and e-commerce exports in November rose by just +1% year-on-year, after flatlining in October. Exports to the US represented the brunt of this decline, plunging -52% year-on-year in November after a corresponding -51% fall in October, the steepest declines on record. Prior to the de minimis ban imposed by the US government, China–US e-commerce accounted for roughly 3% of global air cargo volumes.
China–EU e-commerce volumes continued to grow, but less briskly, expanding +29% in November. This is down from the +47% recorded in October.
Policy is now biting from China as well. China’s State Council has introduced new rules on tax information reporting by online platforms. From October 2025, marketplaces such as Amazon, Temu, and eBay must report tax-relevant data on merchants and individual service providers to improve transparency and compliance. Non-compliance can be costly, with exporters facing fines up to CNY 100,000 (about USD 14,000) if they miss the data deadline or report incorrectly. In severe cases, penalties can reach CNY 500,000 (around USD 71,000) and include business suspension pending rectification.
More regulated e-commerce
International cross-border e-commerce will face a more regulated landscape across many fronts. The US and the EU are leading the charge, but countries including Japan and Thailand have also discussed or announced new rules commencing in fiscal 2026. In December, the EU, for example, agreed to impose a fixed customs duty of EUR 3 on small parcels valued below EUR 150 from 1 July 2026, aiming to close loopholes used by low-value shipments – 91% of which originate in China. Consequently, e-commerce volumes are likely to grow at a slower pace in 2026, but still faster than the general airfreight market, as platforms continue to respond to policy changes and shifting trade flows.
“China’s cross-border e-commerce volumes were flat in October and November. If we see a third consecutive month of lower e-commerce growth out of China, that is a big signal – while duties imposed by other countries may present more unwelcome news for the air cargo market going forward.
“Air cargo’s e-commerce volumes are also likely to be impacted by declining consumer purchasing power as they face higher prices for more essential everyday items, making consumers more mindful of how they spend their money,” van de Wouw believes.
Spot rates continue to decline
On the main corridors, December spot rates mostly extended their year-on-year decline. The sharpest fall (-13%) came on the transatlantic westbound lane, from Europe to North America. Demand slipped -2% from a year earlier, a touch faster than the -1% reduction in capacity. Yet month-on-month the story was different. With reduced passenger belly capacity, spot rates jumped +17%, the quickest increase among the major corridors, but still below the same period of 2024.
Southeast Asia-related lanes posted the next largest year-on-year drops. Spot rates from the region to Europe and North America fell by -11% and -6% respectively year-on-year as capacity expanded. Even so, rates rose strongly month-on-month, up +6% to Europe and +13% to North America, outperforming last year’s seasonal pattern (-3% and +3%).
Northeast Asia was steadier. Air spot rates to Europe and North America fell by around -5% year-on-year and rose by approximately +5% month-on-month. Mainland China stood out for its relative balance as spot rates from China to Europe and North America were just -1% below December 2024 levels.
Airlines managed to quickly reallocate freighter capacity away from the US and towards Europe, where demand has been more accommodating. Even so, China’s month-on-month increases were sharper at around +9% into both Europe and North America, hinting at greater supply/demand imbalance.
Forwarders take short-term approach
Contracting behaviour shifted, too, as 2025 came to a close. Airlines and freight forwarders remain focused on the short term: close to half of forwarders’ volumes were bought in the spot market valid for up to a month, a habit that has lingered since the pandemic. Shippers showed a notable change in approach to cargo capacity in the fourth quarter. One-year contracts accounted for only 24% of new deals in Q4 2025, down 20 percentage points from the previous quarter, as buyers seemed unwilling to lock in rates during peak season and bet instead on further price erosion.
Still, compared with Q4 2024, the share of one-year contracts was 8 percentage points higher. If demand is set to lag supply in 2026, the question is whether longer-term contracts regain ground – back towards Q1 2025’s 38 – or whether shippers increasingly mimic the industry’s prevailing short-termism.
Fundamentals point downwards
The volatile nature of trade and world affairs, van de Wouw said, continues to mean that any sign of crisis this year may yet again help airfreight, but, until then, he sees the market fundamentals pointing downwards in 2026.
“When I look at the biggest risks this year, right now I would say it’s more likely we will see something that will put a stopper on the level of airfreight growth we have seen in the last two years. Overall, the market has been relatively stable, but we are entering a phase when shippers will be looking for better rates and demand may deteriorate in the first quarter of the year.”
AP Moller-Maersk has appointed Ditlev Blicher as the new regional president for North America.
He assumes the role after most recently serving as the company’s regional president for Asia Pacific since 2023 and, prior to joining Maersk, he was APA chief executive at DB Schenker.
Charles van der Steene, who has served as Regional President for North America since January 2024, will become the managing director for Maersk’s India, Middle East and African region, where he previously served as Damco’s regional managing director from 2016-2019 before the company merged with Maersk in 2019.
Royal Air Maroc Cargo has launched a freighter route between Casablanca and Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. It is operated by a Boeing 767 freighter offering 45 tons of capacity weekly, on Friday.
RAM’s freighter network already includes Brussels (three flights per week), Istanbul (two), Bamako (two), and Ouagadougou (two) and it also offers daily bellyhold cargo capacity on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 737 aircraft through its Casablanca hub.
Recent network expansions include São Paulo, Toronto, and Beijing.
ECS Group has added Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine to its Challenge Group representation in Europe. The general Sales and Services Agent already represents Challenge Group in Germany, France, Scandinavia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Challenge Group operates a freighter network out of Liege, Belgium to the US, China, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific and beyond and will shortly take delivery of Boeing 777-300ERSF freighters to complement its 747-400F and 767-300BDSF fleets and enabling new routings to Asia and South America.
Trans Global Projects (TGP) has opened a dedicated airfreight department in Bremen, Germany for time-critical and complex cargo under its own IATA license. Tobias Teichmann joins TGP as head of airfreight Germany, bringing more than a decade of experience. He previously served as airfreight manager at Alexander Global Logistics and spent nearly ten years at Kopf & Lübben, specializing in charter solutions and engineered transport.
The Bremen team complements TGP’s established airfreight expertise, including its Natco airfreight and air charter arm in Rümlang, Switzerland, and specialized capabilities in Brazil.
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS company, has won a competitive tender to lease a new, built-to-suit 11,000sq m air cargo facility at London Heathrow Airport, expected to be fully operational during 2027.
WFS will install a four level, 220 position pallet and container handling system with two elevating transfer vehicle that together with other features will give an annual handling capacity of over 160,000 tonnes.
The 20-year lease on the new facility, located on Southampton Road will reinforce WFS’ position as the largest cargo handler at Heathrow, says WFS.
In 2024, 1.58m tonnes of cargo moved through Heathrow – up 10% year-on-year – with a value of £215.6bn, making it the largest UK port by value. Airlines operating to and from Heathrow serve 230 destinations globally in 85 countries and regions and carry over 72% of all UK air cargo by value.
WFS’ own volumes were 28% higher in the first six months of 2025 versus 2024, due to airline contract wins and organic growth by existing carriers.
WFS managing director UK, Chris Beale, said: “Heathrow is literally flying from a cargo perspective, so it is imperative that we can provide the physical infrastructure to process these growing volumes. This new lease is an important part of this strategy and reflects WFS long-term commitment to Heathrow and its airline and cargo customers.”
WFS currently handles over 350,000 tonnes annually for 12 major airlines at eight facilities at Heathrow with a total footprint of nearly 44,000sq m including its latest customers, Air India and Riyadh Air. The new development will enable WFS to meet the growth requirements of its existing customers and provide capacity to serve more airlines.
As well as supporting WFS’ sustainability goals, the Southampton Road warehouse will incorporate dedicated handling facilities for special cargoes, including valuable, pharmaceutical, perishable, express and dangerous goods shipments. It will also handle outsize cargoes, such as cars and aero engines.
WFS expects the new cargo terminal to create up to 100 new jobs at Heathrow when it opens in 2027.
Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, helps keep families connected all over the world and its SkyCargo arm pays special attention to their furry and feathery members.
In 2025, Emirates SkyCargo transported over 14,600 cats, dogs and other domestic pets– an average of 40 a day. Globetrotting critters travelled all over the airline’s network, with the top cities including London, Melbourne, Glasgow, Cape Town, Paris, Mumbai, Toronto and, of course, Dubai. Over 1,000 pets made a ultra-long haul relocation flights from the UK to Australia or New Zealand, and another 100 travelled even further, leaving the snowy tundra of Canada for the outback of Australia.
Emirates SkyCargo offers a bespoke Pet solution. Fully compliant with IATA’s Live Animal Regulations (LAR), the service is safe, comfortable and reliable, with Emirates on-board hospitality. All animals departing, arriving or transiting through Dubai, are hosted at a dedicated Pet Lounge, that offers a calm and relaxing space to unwind, with 24/7 animal care specialists on-site to offer exercise, cleaning, feeding, and cuddles on demand. Specially designed vehicles chauf-fur* pets between the lounge and aircraft, and ensure they are last on and first off, like all VIP flyersAll facilities, aircraft and ground vehicles are temperature-controlled to enable comfortable travel, even in Dubai’s summer months.
Emirates SkyCargo senior vice president of product and innovation, Dennis Lister, said: “As a team of pet parents ourselves we have designed a solution that prioritises each animal’s comfort, safety and care at every step of their journey. Across our vast global network, we deliver a consistent service underpinned by expert teams of specialists and world-class infrastructure to offer peace of mind to our customers – both the animals and their human companions. We will continue to invest in our solution and operations to deliver an outstanding experience.”
For larger creatures, the airline’s Equine solution uses purpose-designed stalls with adjustable roofs, ventilation covers to control light and temperature and onboard hay nets, shavings and water. At Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), it 45 horse stalls and a permanent horse ramp to allow horses to transfer from the ground transport vehicle to the horse stall easily and mitigate any risk of injury.
Emirates SkyCargo also participates in wildlife rescue missions. This year, it transported four lion cubs from a life in captivity into a sanctuary in South Africa, where they are now able to roam freely in a protected environment. The airline continues its longstanding campaign to keep wildlife wild, taking a zero-tolerance stand against illegal wildlife trafficking and the carriage of all hunting trophies, even where permissible by law.
*ACV cannot be held responsible for any puns that Emirates’ PR department choose to make
