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INCREASING air cargo prices from China to the us are bucking the global trend, as Chinese e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu offer quick delivery that spur demand in what is usually a slack season, reports Nikkei Asia.
Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu ship goods directly from Chinese factories to US consumers using air cargo, an industry already under pressure due to limited flights. This contrasts with US e-commerce giants like Amazon that ship from domestic warehouses where inventory arrives by sea.
Growing US demand has pushed this week’s air cargo rates from China to the US up 14 per cent compared with the same period last year, generally known as the off-peak season. The global average was down eight per cent in the same period, and rates for cargo from the US to China were down 29 per cent.
Industry insiders said air cargo rates have previously dipped after the US holiday peak from late fall until Christmas, but the rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms that offer competitive low prices and rapid shipping times have caused capacity shortages.
A US congressional report from June last year estimated that Shein and Temu were responsible for almost 600,000 packages per day arriving in the US
‘If demand is like this now, it’s going to be really challenging in the fourth quarter during the traditional big season,’ said Brian Bourke, chief commercial officer of SEKO logistics, referring to the Christmas holiday period.
This week, cargo airline Atlas Air began operating six flights per week between the US and China in partnership with Chinese freight forwarder YunExpress, in addition to a service three times per week between Miami and Xiamen, the companies launched in December, to meet e-commerce demand.
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