The International Civil Aviation Organization has condemned Russian and North Korean attempts to interfere with aircraft and ship navigation systems in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf region that occurred on 3-7 October.
ICAO has issued two resolutions condemning the two countries for the incidents, saying that they infracted the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation and urgently called upon both countries to comply strictly with their obligations.
Lisa Dyer, executive director of the GPS Innovation Alliance trade association added: “ICAO’s resolutions condemning GNSS interference are an important milestone in safeguarding global navigation systems. From aviation and maritime trade to freight and ground transportation, GNSS systems are the backbone of global navigation and trade. These operations rely on uninterrupted GPS signals for routing, scheduling, real-time tracking, and more.
“Governments should follow ICAO’s lead by taking action to modernize and secure GPS infrastructure to ensure navigation remains free from harmful interference in freight transport worldwide.”
Shipping operators have also reported malfunctions to navigation equipment in the Red Sea area.
The air freight industry is adjusting to the end of de-minimis customs concessions in the US, with tighter compliance and small-parcels giving way to heavier, consolidated shipments, Airforwarders Association (AfA) executive director, Brandon Fried (pictured, center) told the FIATA World Congress 2025 in Hanoi on 9 October.
He said that AfA members have reported higher duties, longer cycle times, and greater complexity in returns management since the de minimis thresholds ended on August 29.
“The industry has moved overnight from light-touch clearance to full formal entry,” he said. “We are seeing fewer parcels but larger, better-documented shipments. Fraud has dropped, but working-capital and compliance burdens have climbed sharply. “Realignment is far from finished.”
Fried urged forwarders to consolidate smartly, invest in master data and tariff governance, and design returns solutions through Free Trade Zones or Inward Processing Relief schemes.
He said forwarders must address duty cash-flow early and strengthen visibility across purchase orders to manage the post-de-minimis environment effectively.
FedEx has appointed Marshall Witt, formerly the chief financial officer of IT distribtor TD SYNNEX as senior vice president and chief financial officer of FedEx Freight.
Prior to joining TD SYNNEX, he spent 15 years at FedEx, primarily within the FedEx Freight finance organization, most recently as senior vice president of finance.
FedEx previously announced the appointment of John Smith as president and chief executive officer and R. Brad Martin as chairman of the board of FedEx Freight, with both appointments effective upon the spin-off of the company. Witt’s appointment completes FedEx Freight’s executive leadership team as it prepares to beconme an independent company:
Other appointments include Mike Rodgers as chief technology officer, Eddie Klank, as chief human resources and legal officer, Mike Lyons, chief specialized services and commercial officer and Clint McCoy, chief operating officer.
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS company has signed a long-term lease on two warehouses at Frankfurt Airport to enable it to expand its e-commerce services.
The handler will take over two warehouses and two office buildings on a 24,000sq m site within the airport’s Cargo City South.
The facilities will be equipped with ULD handling systems and volume and dimension scanners. When fully operational, it will give WFS capacity to handle up to 100,000 tonnes of import and export freight annually for E-commerce and forwarder clients.
WFS’ EFFH service makes freight Ready-for-Carriage, captures weight and cargo measurements and provides crating, repacking, security screening, consolidation, shipment labelling and transportation between forwarders and handling agents. It also includes import deconsolidation, sorting, preparing shipments for customs clearance, and onward transportation by road.
WFS also offers EFFH services in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Liege, Madrid, Stockholm, and at 12 airports across France, including Paris CDG.
Geodis celebrated its 500th freighter flight from Asia to Guadalajarawith a ceremony at the Mexican airport on 7 October. The forwarding and logistics company has signed a long-term partnership with Atlas Air to operate the route. Launched in 2019, it operates two weekly flights, one each from Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Geodis maintained the service through the Covid pandemic as well as the recent geopolitical disruptions.
Geodis Mexico managing director, Miguel Muñoz, said: “This milestone is a clear signal that GEODIS Mexico has strengthened its position in the local market, and it would not have been possible without the great collaboration between our teams in Mexico and Asia as well as our corporate headquarters in Paris and our regional headquarters in the US. We look forward to building on this momentum and are committed to reaching the 1,000-flight mark, continuing to serve as a growth partner for our customers.”
Avia Group animal transport arm Intradco Global has appointed Dennis Christen as global product manager for wildlife, zoological, and marine logistics.
He brings more than 35 years of experience in aquariums, zoological institutions, and rescue and rehabilitation programmes, and has managed large-scale animal transports as a client.
The transport of animals has evolved significantly over the past quarter century. Today, real-time visibility and data flows are non-negotiable, with zoological partners expecting welfare to be monitored and prioritised at every stage. Crates and unit load devices are no longer seen as containers but as mobile habitats, designed to provide safety, comfort, and species-specific needs.
The Rhenus Group has appointed Peter Nordstrom as chief executive for its Air & Ocean division in North America. In over 25 years in forwarding, he has held senior positions at Ceva Logistics, Geodis, Kuehne + Nagel, and was most recently the executive vice president of ocean freight Americas at DB Schenker.
Etihad Airways has operated its first-ever flight from Abu Dhabi toMedan in Sumatra, Indonesia and launched of flights to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Both routes are operated by new Airbus A321LR aircraft. The airline will also soon launch flights to Krabi and Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hanoi and Hong Kong.
Challenge Group has renewed its IATA CEIV Live Animals Certification including its Horse Inn in Liège, Belgium.
A dedicated workforce, trained to IATA standards, oversees all live animal transport, and the group has developed tailored equipment and processes such as specialist ULDs, areas for the cleaning and storage of stalls and a prototype horse trailer for transfers between the Horse Inn and the aircraft.
Each year, Challenge Group manages the movement of some 8,000 horses, with over 5,000 of these transported on its own fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft, primarily across the Atlantic. The aircraft are equipped with pre-cooling systems, and are temperature-controlled throughout the flight.
The global air cargo market is on course for +3-4% growth in demand in 2025 based on current trading conditions, but after unexpectedly high volumes over the summer, September’s data showed signs of growth slowing heading into the final quarter of the year, according to industry analysts Xeneta.
At what would traditionally be seen as the start of the peak season for air cargo volumes, demand growth slowed to +3% year-on-year – on a par with growth in capacity – in September following consecutive +5% year-on-year increases in July and August. Month-on-month volumes also saw a lower +3% rise.
Xeneta chief airfreight officer, Niall van de Wouw, said: “Over the previous two months we’ve seen how air cargo has gained from ‘piggybacking’ on global uncertainty, whether that’s frontloading supply chains or modal shift from ocean to air to move goods more quickly before tariffs took hold. September’s data is an early indication that this is lessening as some stability starts to return on major corridors and everything is less hectic on a global level.”
The US administration’s decision to remove the de minimis threshold for low value cross-border shipments caused Chinese e-commerce exports to the US to fall for a fourth consecutive month in August. Sales of low-value and e-commerce goods slumped -38% year-on-year, according to the latest China Customs’ data.
E-commerce boost for Asia-Europe
Burgeoning e-commerce volumes, a result of the Chinese e-commerce behemoths shifting their focus towards European consumers, helped to push volumes +4% higher on the Asia–Europe corridor in the first three weeks of September compared to the previous month.
Demand was also supported by the pre–Golden Week cargo rush as well as mode shift due to the suspension of China–Europe rail links at the Polish border. China Customs reported year-to-date cross-border e-commerce and low-value goods sales to Europe increased +58% year-on-year, with August alone up +55%.
Van de Wouw says it is “astonishing” how quickly China’s big e-commerce players have been able to pivot towards Europe to boost their growth since the US’ decision on de minimis.
Moreover, the US focus on branded or patented products shields most of India’s pharma exports, which fall under low-cost generic medicines.
Even so, the overall Asia-Europe growth in September compared to August remains well below last year’s +9% surge. Super Typhoon Ragasa added to the gloom. The storm disrupted East Asian hubs in the final week of September, leaving monthly volumes up by only +3% on August.
US tariffs affect seasonal flows
At the corridor level, the US tariffs have created profound impacts on seasonal air cargo flows.
Across both the Transpacific and Transatlantic markets, the average air cargo spot rates slipped by -2-3% in September compared to a month ago. Even as supply chains shift towards the Southeast Asia market for production to lessen the impact of tariffs, September’s Southeast Asia to the US spot rates failed to grow, declining -2% month-on-month and a striking -22% compared to a year ago.
The reduction of e-commerce volumes due to US global de minimis bans left a gaping hole in the Transpacific market, marked by carriers’ agility in shifting freighter capacity away from the region.
Reflecting the general slowdown in growth, Europe to the US air cargo markets also saw lower volumes as the earlier frontloading due to extended US tariff deadlines disrupted traditional seasonal flows. On a more positive note, September air cargo spot rates on the westbound and eastbound legs remained higher than a year earlier.
A reduction in Transatlantic capacity of around 20% in late October at the start of airlines’ winter schedules, when passenger belly capacity is taken out after the summer months, is expected to reverse freight rate declines, but is, van de Wouw, says “a consequence of supply, not demand”.
Asia-to-Europe trade lanes offered a little more cheer as September spot rates from Northeast and Southeast Asia to Europe edged up by +4% month-on-month, supported by the run-up to the peak shipping season. Compared with a year ago, however, they were down -5% and -21% respectively.
Shippers and forwarders still wary
The level of rate fluctuation is creating a “wary mood” for contract negotiations between shippers and freight forwarders. The share of six-month deals rose by nearly ten percentage points year-on-year to 22% in the third quarter, timed to expire just after the peak season and ahead of the next annual cycle. By contrast, the share of contracts lasting more than a year has fallen, reflecting doubts about the longer-term outlook.
“There is such limited bandwidth for shippers. They are looking for stability at a reasonable, competitive rate, and want to go long on contract negotiations preferably, because it’s such a painful process for them trying to plan on a quarter-by-quarter basis,” van de Wouw added.
Not as bad as feared
Looking at the outlook for Q4, van de Wouw said: “When we reported better-than-expected demand in July and August, our question was ‘how long will it last?’. In September, we started to see the market growth slowing, and we expect this to continue for the rest of the year.”
Based on current market fundamentals, he now expects 2025 to end with a +3-4% growth in air cargo demand.
“Q4 for airlines and freight forwarders will likely not be as good as hoped, but 2025 overall may not be as bad as they feared. A year ago, at this time, we talked of a ‘peak season to be proud of’ and air cargo on its final approach to double-digit growth. One year down the line, the market looks very different.
