Desperate to keep goods on the move, retailers long plagued by the shipping crisis now opt for air cargo, sending the price of an air freight charter to new highs.
As per Air Charter Service, a single trip of a trans-Pacific charter on a Boeing 777 is amounting up to $2 million, a significant increase from the pre-pandemic peak, which as per reports, was $750,000.
A similar price trend is being experienced by industry executives and shippers from across the globe, observes trade publications and Journals.
Speaking to the matter, an American shipper highlighted that shipping goods out of Vietnam could be hefty on the pockets than the rest as rates for air freight charters range from $2.5 million to $3 million.
The manufacturing base for clothes, shoes, and electronics, Vietnam, just came out of a months-long lockdown and is currently hit by worker exodus, causing operational disruptions on the factory floors and at ports.
While demand from the US and Europe finally begin to pick up such bottlenecks keep stressing the global supply chains.
Avoiding port delays shippers are chartering their goods fervently. The American multinational sportswear giant Nike is using more air freight, as reported by Retail Dive.
Even Amazon has been on a shopping spree for secondhand cargo jets to avoid major port delays.
Ocean freight, which is on a usual four to six times cheaper than air freight carries around 90% of the world’s traded goods. However, the plaguing shipping crisis is forcing retailers who normally wouldn’t dream of chartering to move towards air freight charters to cope up with the increased demand.
While signs indicate melioration of the shipping crisis, retailers racing to put goods on shelves ahead of the festivities still face a crunch.
Shippers believe the month of October to be the worst in terms of airfreight transportation for the shipping community.
