The Cargo iQ airfreight quality standards group is rolling out a tiered certification program to help members develop staggered implementation plans.
It aims to help them to map their quality progress and identify areas that require further improvement. The tiers – 1,2 and 3 -will reflect the scores achieved by members after a data-driven assessment, which will check milestone capabilities and monitor how continuous improvement practises are being applied to operations.
Lean audits are also being introduced alongside the existing audit process so members can upgrade their tiers outside the usual audit cycle.
American Airlines is to operate flights from Philadelphia to Edinburgh and Milan Malpensa, from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Venice Marco Polo, from Chicago O’Hare to Naples and Madrid-Barajas, from Charlotte-Douglas to Athens and from Miami (MIA) to Rome-Fuimucino in its summer schedule starting in April. London Heathrow to DFW also increases to five daily flights in April. Altogether, in June, July and August, American will operate more than 4,000 monthly widebody flights between the US and Europe. Flights from MIA to Buenos Aires International Airport increase to twice daily for April to October. In the Asia-Pacific region, larger aircraft will provide increased capacity.
Polish airline LOT Cargo has signed a deal with Cargo.one. It will make its worldwide capacity available on the digital air freight procurement and sales platform to its user base of thousands of freight forwarding branches in 134 countries.
Forwarders in the US, Canada and Poland can now use Cargo.one to quote and book LOT Cargo’s global capacity for general cargo shipments up to 1000kg to popular destinations including London, New York, Miami, Tokyo, Seoul, Delhi, and Dubai. Additional markets and products including perishables will become available in the coming months.
As well as sizable intra-European connectivity, LOT Cargo offers direct, wide-body long haul capacity from Central and Eastern Europe to hub airports in the US, Canada, China, India, Japan and South Korea via its terminal at Warsaw Chopin Airport and road feeder services.
LOT head of cargo and mail, Michał Grochowski, commented: “Cargo.one delivers LOT Cargo valuable opportunities to grow our sales and enhance the digital experiences we provide. As a partner, Cargo.one offers uniquely strong technology and valuable digital procurement expertise, supporting LOT Cargo to ensure the very strongest end to end service delivery.”
WestJet said it saw a surge in belly cargo demand in 2024, with a 60% year-over-year increase in revenue. Performance was particularly strong on key routes like Narita-Calgary Incheon-Calgary.”
While the airline recently confirmed it would eventually phase out its four dedicated freighters, it is committed to expanding belly cargo opportunities in markets where WestJet operates passenger service, as well as offering cargo on new routes.
The Canadian carrier earlier signed a block space agreement (BSA) with Virgin Atlantic from Toronto to London Heathrow and beyond from 31 March.
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) is to collaborate with telecommunications and technology company HKT to establish the territory’s first 5G private network-enabled terminal.
It says the high-speed 5G network will transform terminal efficiency and pave the way for the future adoption of advanced technologies.
The system will enable autonomous electric tractor operations, with real time coordination and dynamic adaptation to traffic and safety protocols, reducing the need for human intervention.
Security will be enhanced by patrol robots, equipped with AI-powered video analytics and 5G private network, continuously transmitting live footage to Hactl’s security control center over a dedicated, secure 5G mobile channel for real time surveillance and instant threat detection and response.
A 5G-connected Smart Cargo Locating system will streamline warehousing through real-time positioning and automated cargo tracking. Smart Forklifts for cargo racking will communicate with one another and the central operations system to optimize workflow and minimize errors.
ECS Group’s Globe Air Cargo Cambodia arm has been appointed general sales agent for Air Premia in Cambodia and Myanmar. Under the agreement, cargo from both countries will be routed via Bangkok to destinations including Seoul, Tokyo Narita and major US hubs such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newark.
Air Premia’s Boeing 787 servicess out of Bangkok offer an estimated cargo capacity of 15 to 18 tons per flight.
CargoAi has launched a CargoMART Interline solution with a number of airlines, including Emirates SkyCargo. The tool digitizes and automates interline capacity checks and e-bookings and aims to replace manual interline booking methods through emails and phone calls.
Carriers can check and book interline capacity online and, says CargoAi, unlock additional capacity with minimal effort and with no heavy IT investment.
CargoMART Interline was developed and tested with Emirates SkyCargo, but the platform is not exclusive. It is designed for rapid adoption by any airline with API connectivity – 107 are currently available with CargoAi. The Interline feature has been added to the CargoMART Airline application.
CargoAi chief executive, Matt Petot, said: “As an industry, we can no longer afford the inefficiencies of traditional interline booking. With CargoMART Interline, airlines can scale their partnerships effortlessly, maximize revenue, and prepare for a new era where forwarders can directly book interline capacity. Emirates SkyCargo has been instrumental in the development of this tool, and we are excited to extend its benefits to the entire air cargo community.”
Emirates SkyCargo vice president of pricing, airline partnerships and distribution, Matthew Scott, added: “Our digitalisation strategy is to deploy tools that drive tangible impact, so partnering with CargoAi on this pioneering solution was a natural fit. During testing, CargoMART Interline streamlined our operations, minimized manual tasks, and provided more flexible and direct access to our world-class product and service. We look forward to its expansion across the industry.”
DHL Group is to invest €2 billion (US$2.2bn) over the next five years in the life sciences and healthcare sector as part of its Strategy 2030.
Some 50% of the investment allocated to the Americas, 25% to Asia Pacific, and 25% to the EMEA region and will deliver faster, more reliable and patient-centric logistics solutions.
The investment will focus on enhancing storage, order fulfilment, distribution, global shipping and last-mile delivery. A significant part will be allocated to establishing new cross-divisional GPD-certified Pharma Hubs for multi-temperature shipments lanes, expanding cold chain capacity in existing facilities, commissioning new temperature-controlled vehicles and enhancing passive and active packaging solutions.
As the demand grows in critical areas such as clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies, DHL is also investing in specialized cooling infrastructure to accommodate low and ultra-low temperature ranges. Additionally, the Group will implement new IT systems.
A new DHL Health Logistics sector brand will consolidate life sciences and healthcare expertise.
Chief executive of DHL Supply Chain, Oscar de Bok, said: “We’re building high-quality, integrated logistics solutions that are as innovative and reliable as the products our customers create – ensuring that patients everywhere receive the right treatment, at the right time, with complete confidence.”
Life sciences and healthcare logistics contributed over €5 billion to DHL Group’s global revenue in 2024. Currently, DHL Group operates nearly 600 sites, hubs, and warehouses in almost 130 countries dedicated to life sciences and healthcare logistics, with over 2.5 million sq m of temperature-controlled warehouse space.
DHL Group recently acquired Cryopdp, a specialist courier focused on clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies.
New carrier Skyway Airlines of the Philippines has appointed Hactl as handling agent for its new freighter services to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong independent handler will provide terminal handling, ramp handling and documentation. Skyway is due to start flights on 20 March, using its 18-tonne capacity B737-400 freighters on three services a week to its Clark International Airport base, and three to Manila. Hong Kong is the airline’s first international destination.
Analyst Niall van de Wouw has described US President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ – in which he announced major tariff hikes on imports from most of the country’s trading partners as “a seismic shock” for e-commerce.
De Wouw, who is Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said that the cargo market is reevaluating its future as shippers, forwarders, airlines, and consumers come to terms with the economic reality of new import taxes and a potential international trade war.
As expected Trump has also confirmed the elimination of duty–free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China and Hong Kong, starting 2 May. All relevant postal items valued at or under US$800 previously qualifying for the de minimis exemption will become subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or US$25 per item (increasing to US$50 per item after 1 June 2025).
The announcement was one of many as Trump imposed sweeping global import taxes on goods into the US from 9 April.
Already reeling from the potential impact of the US’ actions, global air cargo demand is likely to suffer further harm from retaliatory actions by other countries. EU President, Ursula von der Leyen, called the US decision “a major blow for the world economy.”
De Wouw warned that after more than a year of double-digit growth, air cargo now faces an uncertain future.
“In my 30 years working in the air freight industry, I cannot remember any other unilateral trade policy decision with the potential to have such a profound impact on the market at a global level,” he said.
“E-commerce has been the main driver behind air cargo demand. If you suddenly and dramatically remove the oxygen from that demand, it will cause a seismic shock to the market,” he added.
China-to-US e-commerce shipments alone account for roughly half of the cargo capacity on this eastbound corridor and around 6% of global air freight demand. Amy disruption to this will free up a significant part of this corridor’s cargo capacity and spread its impact to the rest of the market, van de Wouw said.
Air cargo market data for March clearly indicated shippers and forwarders were ‘hedging their bets’ and buying time before making longer-term commitments to capacity as they waited to see how the impact of newly-imposed tariffs and international trade tensions unfolded. In fact, there were no majorc signs of panic as demand rose +5% year-on-year against a strong comparison 12 months ago.
However, the economic fallout following the latest events is now likely to place further pressure on airfreight rates. Global air cargo spot rates in March continued their levelling out trend seen over the past year, increasing at their lowest pace since June 2024 at +6% year-on-year.
Given the tumultuous market uncertainties, the latest air cargo market data reflected the cautious ‘wait and see’ approach being adopted by industry stakeholders. Shippers negotiating contracts in Q1 2025 preferred shorter-term agreements of three months or less, representing 79% of contracts – an increase of nearly 20 percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile, freight forwarders continue to place approximately 45% of their volumes in the spot market.
“With the growth of rates slowing overall, we’d normally expect to see shippers making longer capacity commitments to achieve more competitive rates, but, right now, this is clearly a gamble few shippers are ready to take – and this is before we’re even seeing tariffs impacting volumes,” said De Wouw.
He continued: “Considering the economic tensions between the US and its international trading partners, this hesitance is understandable and yesterday’s ‘Liberation Day’ statement by President Trump will take this to a level we haven’t seen before. As companies come to terms with the impact of US tariffs and we await the global response, shippers simply don’t yet know what they’re up against. If they agree a plan for the year now, it could turn out to be much costlier in the longer-term.”
It’s also a ‘big ask’ for a freight forwarder to commit to a fixed rate for a year, even with various ‘escape clauses’ in place, van de Wouw added. “In this environment, the T&Cs are becoming just as important as the air freight rate,” he said.
March saw a third consecutive month of tempered single-digit global air cargo demand growth, although not as subdued as might be expected. The temporary suspension of the de minimis ban by the US government on inbound Chinese shipments produced a recovery in transpacific e-commerce demand, but this is set to change following the latests announcement.
The impact on e-commerce volumes carried by air into the US will not only mean higher prices for consumers, it also raises the prospect of increased border congestion given the sudden and dramatic increase in shipments needing to be processed by US Customs and Border protection. The US Department of Commerce attempted to allay these concerns by stating it has adequate systems in place to collect additional tariff revenue on the 4 million de minimis shipments a day entering the US.
Global air cargo supply grew +2% year-on-year in March, but this was still at slower than demand growth. With a combination of supply/demand rebalancing, the dynamic load factor stayed on par with last year at 60%.
The addition of summer capacity from the end of March to satisfy peak passenger travel demand could see one of two scenarios unfolding in the current climate, van de Wouw indicated.
“There appears to be a fundamental shift in sentiment emerging in the consumer market in response to the potential chaos and added costs of tariffs being imposed on and by countries and trading blocs.What happens if there is less passenger demand across the Atlantic this summer? Less passengers means less bags, which produces even more cargo capacity in the market. If passenger and cargo volumes feel an impact, the next step might be for airlines to downgrade or divert capacity.”
In terms of regional developments, despite double-digit demand growth month-on-month in March, Northeast Asia to Europe spot rates were unchanged at US$4.28 per kg as airlines allocated more capacity to the market. Thanks to buoyant e-commerce demand during the month, the corridor’s spot rate increased +14% year-on-year. In contrast, the trade imbalance meant backhaul trade showed a -2% rate decline month-on-month and -14% year-on-year to $1.37 per kg.
The Northeast Asia to North America market showed a noticeable spot rate increase of +9% month-on-month to $4.17 per kg, undoubtedly driven by the temporary removal of the de minims threshold for Chinese shipments in early February.
Similar to the Europe to Northeast Asia corridor, the North America to Northeast Asia market showed a slight decline of -1% month-on-month and a considerable -20% spot rate reduction year-on-year.
Unusually, the Transatlantic market recorded both fronthaul and backhaul rates increases in March. The westbound air spot rate grew +2% month-on-month to $2.51 per kg and +22% year-on-year. Eastbound rates grew +4% month-on-month and were +1% higher year-on-year to $1.11 per kg.
Niall van de Wouw says market anxiety and uncertainty is not good for anyone: producers, consumers, airlines, or forwarders. “It’s a crazy environment, left and right,” he said.
“No one is benefitting from this situation because it’s impossible to plan effectively against a moving target. Clearly, everyone will be waiting to see how the removal of the de minimis threshold and all the global tariffs already announced and those still to come will impact trade, as well as how quickly there will be less demand and, consequently, less airfreight. It’s all expectations right now, but we must expect the situation will get worse before it gets better.”
