Andy Martin - YRC Logistics EU

I am sure that everyone involved in transporting goods globally has seen the massive over capacity in the first part of 2009 on shipping routes resulting in rates dropping dramatically, particularly were directly relevant to me on Asia-Europe. With carriers reducing this capacity and demand increasing some have now restored rates to almost the same as they were in 2008.

It is interesting to see a headline in a trade publication this week that shows an airline is increasing it's rates by 25% globally over the next few weeks. Similar to container capacity there has been a reduction over the past months by many airlines, but there is definitely a strong push by these airlines to increase rates now. The balance for us as companies offering freight forwarding services is the need for the best deals without allowing the reduced capacity to damage our clients supply chains.

This is a key topic on our European procurement strategy and indeed our global procurement strategy. YRC Logistics has built a network of partners, not all of them trading clients, in which we share market intelligence on global rates and help each our with procurement strategy. If you are interested in more information on this subject please contact uksales@yrclogistics.com

Labels: airfreight, capacity, Rate Increases, Seafreight