Air and Sea Markets Face Uncertain Future
Last year proved tough for transporters on the world’s busiest trade routes between Asia and Europe. Both the sea and air markets suffered from weak demand and overcapacity as new orders of airplanes and ships continued to come on line. The container shipping market was down around three percent worldwide by volume in 2012 compared to the previous year, says Denis Sanguinetti, sea-freight procurement manager at Bolloré Logistics. Routes between Asia and Western Europe suffered the biggest drop of between seven and eight percent, he adds. Similarly, the volume of goods transported by air fell by around 2.5 percent worldwide, says Georges Van Hove, manager of airfreight procurement at Bolloré Logistics. “The air-freight market will remain weak as long as the global economic recovery is uncertain and capacity stays high,” he warns. In particular, the sea container market looks set to continue its record level of volatility as shipping companies seek to balance supply and demand.