Global airfreight rates continued to trend lower last week according to the latest data from TAC Index, the leading price reporting agency on air freight markets. Led by falling spot rates since the end of peak season last month, the global Baltic Air Freight Index (BAI00) calculated by TAC was down a further -6.2 percent in the week to 13 January. Nevertheless, the index is still comfortably above where it was 12 months ago – by some +21.8 percent YoY – and some sources also anticipate a further potential rush of business or ‘mini peak’ as usual ahead of Chinese New Year in late January.

Last week’s decline was led by falling spot rates on the big lanes out of China, with declines both to Europe and the US. The index of outbound routes from Hong Kong (BAI30) slid by -5.6 percent WoW, leaving it at a gain of +11.5 percent YoY. Outbound Shanghai (BAI80) dropped -9.7 percent WoW, leaving its YoY gain at +23.5 percent. Elsewhere out of Asia, rates from India were also falling a little both Europe and the US. Rates to Europe were more sharply lower both from Bangkok and from Seoul as well as from Vietnam, though rates from Vietnam to the US were higher again.

Out of Europe, trends in rates were more mixed, with gains to China and Japan but falls on Transatlantic lanes. The index of outbound routes from Frankfurt (BAI20) shed -7.4 percent WoW, but was still well up by some +43.4 percent from the low levels of 12 months ago. And outbound London (BAI40) narrowly bucked the falling trend globally with a small gain of +0.3 percent WoW, led by higher rates to the US and South East Asia leaving it ahead by +20.7 percent YoY.

From the Americas, the index of outbound routes from Chicago (BAI50) was also up again by +4.3 percent WoW with gains on most major lanes pushing its YoY increase up to a healthy looking +50.5 percent. Overall rates from the US, however, were a little lower on most major lanes including to Europe and to China as well as to South America.

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