Air cargo volumes for e-commerce shipments saw their growth come to a standstill in July. This stagnation occurred as new import charges for small packages, introduced by the European Union, began to take effect. The trend was discussed by Ryan Keyrouse, CEO of the consulting and data firm Rotate, during his presentation at the EU cross-border e-commerce forum in Liege.
For freight forwarders and operations managers, this flatlining growth in e-commerce air cargo could signal a shift in demand patterns for certain trade lanes, particularly those into the EU. The new import charges may lead to a decrease in the volume of small e-commerce packages, potentially impacting capacity utilization on air freight routes and influencing pricing strategies for carriers and forwarders. Shippers might explore alternative fulfillment strategies or adjust their pricing to absorb the new costs, which could affect overall shipment volumes and routing decisions.
