Air Freight Market to USA and Europe – Latest News

Air transport always plays an important role in the proportion of import and export in the Vietnamese market. In particular, the US and Europe are two markets where air cargo transportation from Vietnam is very developed but also quite volatile. Let’s join HDG Logistics to update the latest information on the situation of export markets from Vietnam to these two key markets.

Current situation of air transport from Vietnam to the US and Europe

Since the Lunar New Year, freight transport from Vietnam to the US and Europe has started to show signs of strong growth. That is shown by the fact that the price is constantly increasing and the load is always in a state of scarcity. Airlines hubs such as Singapore Airlines and Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia have warned of congestion at transit ports due to the overwhelming demand for cargo to these two markets after the Lunar New Year.

Exports mainly by air from Vietnam via the US and Europe

Textiles and garments, clothing, footwear and electronic components continue to be the key exports of Vietnam’s air transport to these two markets. With the EVFTA coming into effect, Vietnamese enterprises are increasingly expanding exports to the European market to take advantage of preferential tariffs for the above items.

See more >> Export Procedures for Electronic Components – HDG Logistics

Is there currently a congestion or backlog for air freight shipments to the US and Europe?

The US has always been the focus market for export aviation services in Vietnam, so the shortage of space and long transit time has occurred quite a lot recently. Airlines will often recommend load testing for each specific order to avoid having a price but no load.

Major US airports such as LAX, JFK or ORD are always quite congested, so the transit time to these airports from HAN or SGN is usually 4 to 6 days and may be delayed.

Airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines are more developed than US routes from HAN and SGN, so the load for European flights is also more limited. Therefore, there are quite a few cases where the load to Europe is stuck, many connecting load lines are jammed, leading to a longer transit time than usual (the time can be up to 10-14 days). However, the jammed load occurs less with specialized European routes such as Cargolux, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines … These are airlines in the high segment, so the load is jammed, but the transit time is still guaranteed.

Major airports such as FRA and AMS are always congested so getting loads for these two airports will be quite difficult. Airlines with direct flights to FRA such as VN or LH always sell out quite quickly.

Are air freight rates to the US and Europe constantly increasing or decreasing?

Besides loading, air freight rates are always an issue that customers are concerned about. Most customers will favor cheap rates and transit time is not too long.

Due to the recent underload situation, air freight rates to the US and Europe have recently been quite stable, but prices remain high.

For the US, fares to LAX usually range from $3.x/kg from 100kg and for busy but farther airports such as ORD or IAH the fare can be from $5.x/kg from 100kg.

For the European market, for the cheap segments, the freight price can range from $ 2.x/kg to $ 3.x/kg from 100kg but for the high segments, the freight can be from $ 4.x/kg or even $ 7.x/kg from +100kg.

How has the recent conflict in Iran impacted air freight operations?

The recent outbreak of hostilities in Iran has also affected air freight from Vietnam.
For the US market, there is generally not much affected by the war and conflict between Iran and Israel.
For Europe, the war has had significant effects on some airlines, which operate flights to the European market near/via Iranian and Israeli airspace.
Singapore Airlines made an announcement on April 15, 2024 to stop accepting bookings to Europe until April 29, 2024 due to route changes and congestion in Singapore. The congestion in Singapore had been warned earlier by the airline but with the outbreak of hostilities causing shipments passing through the airline to be affected, delivery times were delayed more than usual. The airline also recommends that if possible, customers consider the option of withdrawing goods from the airline in case of continuous flight delays.

Cargo via Singapore AirlinesOn April 17, 2024, Malaysia Airlines also announced a serious shortage of loads in the near future due to hostilities, the airline had to change its flight itinerary, especially to the Netherlands’ AMS airport. MH also advised customers to use premium rates in case of urgent goods.

What is the outlook for air freight from Vietnam to the US and Europe in the near future?

In the coming time, air freight to the above two markets is expected to be quite difficult to get loads and freight rates are predicted to show no signs of decreasing. Customers should actively contact and update the latest news about air transport with HDG Logistics to ensure their orders are smooth and smooth.

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