Air freight
According to freight forwarders and airline companies capacity constraints and high air cargo rates are expected to continue in 2022. In addition, the rapid spread of Omicron in Europe is triggering high demand for air freight to transport Covid-related products.
The challenge the market is now facing concerns not only a lack of air capacity but also inefficiencies surrounding ground handling infrastructure with congestion at airports and a shortage of road feeder services (RFS) capacity.
Strong demand for air cargo shipping is likely to continue in 2022 thus putting pressure on capacity and air cargo rates.
Sea freight
Ocean rates on the major trade lanes are still high and are not expected to reach pre-Covid levels soon. Ongoing blank sailings and port omissions by ships coupled with last-minute vessel sliding are limiting overall ocean freight capacity.
Equipment in the Far East is recovering but shortages in 40-foot containers are still reported particularly in China, Thailand, and Japan. Vessel delays continue to be common therefore leading to various vessel slidings. Delays in transhipment ports are reported to be 3-4 weeks resulting in increased sailing time to all global destinations.
Space and equipment remain tight resulting from frequent service changes and cancellations. Capacity reduction and long dwell time at transhipment ports remain the biggest challenges.
Land freight from the UAE
Land freight services from UAE to other GCC countries have normalised after the border opening.
- Saudi Arabia: Land freight to Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah is available with a transit time of approximately 8–10 days.
- Kuwait: Land freight is stable with a transit time of 12 days.
- Oman: Land freight is stable with a transit time of 2 days.
- Bahrain: Land freight is stable with a transit time of 8 days.
- Qatar: Land freight is currently not available.
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