Air freight
Despite falling demand and a drop in cargo volume and air cargo rates compared to 2022, freight forwarders and airline companies maintain that freight from Asia to major trade routes is expected to rise and remain above 2019 levels in 2023.
Although opened borders saw an increase in passenger flight frequency and boosted airfreight capacity, pre-pandemic levels are unlikely to be reached any time soon, and market conditions remain in shippers’ favour.
Sea freight
Although ocean rates on the major trade lanes have dropped, they are expected to slowly stabilise but remain at far higher than pre-Covid levels.
As shipping demand weakens, carriers are looking at amending services, such as rationalising port calls, limiting space and reducing capacity, through means such as blank sailing, to prevent further rate decreases.
Significant congestion remains at transhipment ports in Asia resulting in delays of 10-14 days at most major ports, including Busan, Kaohsiung, Singapore, Malaysia, and Durban. This means shipment times to Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar are affected.
Land freight to GCC countries
Service has normalised between the UAE to other GCC countries after the borders opened. However, with Ramadan expected to start on 24 March and shorter working hours for all government and private sectors during the period, we can expect an extra 7-10-day delay on shipments from the UAE to other GCC countries over and above the average times below.
Saudi Arabia
Service to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah is available and additional transit time is approximately 8-10 days.
Kuwait
Service is stable and additional transit time is 12 days.
Oman
Service is stable and additional transit time is 2 days.
Bahrain
Service is stable and additional transit time is 8 days.
For more information, please get in touch with your account manager.
