Asia-Europe sea-air hubs record surge in tonnages: WorldACD

Several key Asia-Europe sea-air hubs have recorded a strong surge in tonnages in the last few weeks as shippers continue to seek alternative logistics solutions due to the disruptions to container shipping caused by the attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to the latest update from WorldACD Market Data. “Freight sources have reported, anecdotally, that some Asia-Europe sea-air hubs such as Dubai, Colombo and Bangkok have been inundated with air cargo in recent weeks as cargo owners seek to replenish stocks in Europe that have run low because containerships that would normally transit via the Suez Canal have been forced make the longer voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.” Analysis this week by WorldACD Market Data confirms that air cargo tonnages to Europe from Dubai, Colombo and Bangkok have been at significantly elevated levels this year compared with the equivalent period last year. In the first seven weeks of 2024, all three of those sea-air hubs have seen their respective flown tonnages to Europe rise by more than 50 percent compared with the first seven weeks of 2023 with Dubai-Europe traffic up 71 percent, Colombo-Europe tonnages up 61 percent and Bangkok-Europe volumes up 58 percent. Despite some reports of elevated traffic volumes to Europe via Singapore and Doha, Singapore-Europe and Doha-Europe tonnages were up, YoY, by just 10 percent and three percent, respectively, in the first seven weeks of this year based on more than 450,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data.