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Crisis-hit retailers take to the air

[ January 19, 2024   //   ]

Retailers are turning to air freight to keep products on shelves amid the crisis in the Red Sea and Suez Canal says ocean and air freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta.

Its latest data released on 19 January, shows air cargo volumes from Vietnam to Europe – a major trade route for apparel – spiked 62% in the week ending 14 January. This is also 6% higher than 2023’s peak week in October and a 16% increase on the volumes recorded in the same week 12 months ago.

Chief airfreight officer, Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta said: “This is the first signal in Xeneta data that the Red Sea crisis is impacting air freight. This is typically a quieter time of year for air freight so to see increases of this magnitude, with higher volumes than at any point in 2023, is significant.

“Routes from Vietnam to Europe are used heavily for apparel, a sector we have been told is switching more goods from ocean to air due to the Red Sea crisis, so it is particularly noteworthy we are seeing volumes increase to such an extent on this trade.”

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