Air Cargo Boom; Shipping Fuel Challenges; Expanding Chip Hubs

The Red Sea crisis is starting to fuel a surge in international airfreight demand. Experts say airborne shipping has been growing at an unseasonably strong double-digit pace, boosted by strong business out of Asia and the Middle East to Europe.

The Logistics Report says the expansion is the latest sign of how companies are adjusting their supply chains in response to geopolitical shock waves and disruptions. Shippers are trying to fly around the Red Sea, where attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping have sent ocean carriers on longer routes around Africa.

That’s raising volumes at European seaports farther from the conflict and leading to more combined sea-air transport through hubs like Dubai. Data provider Xeneta says it’s also helping drive up airfreight prices, with average spot rates out of the Middle East and South Asia to Europe up 71% in March over last year.

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