Price hike! Air freight prices in Europe and the United States continue to rise

Cross-border shipping prices have failed to increase several times, while air freight prices continue to rise.

What cross-border people are most concerned about right now is the volume of orders on Black Friday. Many sellers have said that this year's Black Friday was too "lazy" and the volume of orders did not show the expected growth. However, there have been news of price increases in logistics. Recently, freight forwarders have said that air freight prices to Europe and the United States will continue to rise.

Cross-border logistics is in constant flux. Strikes are happening all over the country, Amazon workers are going on strike on Cyber ​​Monday; customs are conducting strict inspections, and the inspection rates in Europe and the United States are soaring; the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States is affecting the delivery and transshipment of goods, etc.

Air freight prices to Europe and the United States continue to rise! What is the reason?

It is currently the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States ( November 23-26), which undoubtedly brings double pressure to the majority of Amazon sellers.

On the one hand, the already tight orders are likely to be further aggravated, and on the other hand, there is logistics pressure. " Due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in the United States , the time efficiency of cargo transportation such as container pickup at the terminal, FedEx/UPS pickup, LTL/FTL truck shipment , and Amazon warehouse will be affected during the period from November 23 to November 26, " said a freight forwarder.

In addition, air freight prices to Europe and the United States are also rising.

As early as the beginning of November, industry insiders said that air freight prices to Europe and the United States had risen. Some cross-border sellers originally thought that this price increase was only temporary. However, until now, air freight prices to Europe and the United States have not fallen back, and are even still rising.

"At the beginning, the air freight price was only slightly increased, but now the increase is very obvious, and this situation will continue to happen." A freight forwarder told the editor that the air freight prices in Europe and the United States have increased, and the highest quotation has reached 60. Therefore, except for those goods with particularly strong timeliness, it is recommended to change the goods sent to Europe to Qatar Airways, and the goods sent to the United States to choose express ships.

Several other freight forwarders said that due to the severe UPS restrictions, UPS Europe has not picked up any cargo in the past week, and the Americas also began to limit delivery yesterday. As of yesterday, there were 582 tons of cargo waiting to fly to the US and 204 tons waiting to fly to the European route; the subsequent delays of Hong Kong UPS are temporarily unpredictable, and it is best to use DHL or FEDEX for express delivery.

Why have air freight prices in Europe and the United States risen sharply? Industry insiders have summarized the following reasons:

First, it is affected by the traditional peak season for shipments. Cross-border sellers describe November as the busiest month of the year. They need to prepare for various promotional activities such as "Double Eleven", "Black Friday", and "Cyber ​​Monday" to meet the crazy shopping needs of overseas consumers. It is very normal for the shipment volume to increase significantly and push up the air freight price. In addition, cross-border sellers need to note that in previous years, the peak season promotions were generally dominated by sellers on platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. This year, platforms such as Temu have joined the melee. It is rumored that Temu has specially chartered planes to prepare for the peak season, and a large number of project cargo and small package cargo have been shipped, grabbing space at high prices, and air freight capacity has become more tense, which has further pushed up air freight prices to a certain extent.

Secondly, due to uncontrollable factors, K4/KD was grounded for a month, affecting the US air dispatch. In addition, a new round of bad weather swept across the United States. In detail, the rain and snow storm on the West Coast is moving towards the East Coast, including Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington DC, New York City and other cities under the attack of blizzards.

Due to the severe weather, there will definitely be cargo delays in logistics along channels such as Interstate 95, Atlanta and Charlotte.

Some time ago, flights to the United States were severely affected by the heavy snow, including GG, CX, K4, KD, 5Y, CV, CI and other flights, and flight spaces became even more tight.

At the same time, several flights on the European route were cancelled, including flights at Hong Kong CX/KL/SQ. In addition, due to the volcanic eruption in Russia, the second-leg cargo to Europe and the United States had to be pulled and flights were suspended.

Therefore, air transport to Europe and the United States has been in constant trouble in recent times. Cross-border sellers also need to adjust their stocking preparations in a timely manner to avoid delaying product timeliness and affecting product sales!

The "Thanksgiving" holiday affects product delivery and transportation, and customs has increased inspection efforts!

In terms of customs, in addition to the recent increase in inspection efforts by Shenzhen Customs, the inspection rates of European and American customs have also continued to rise.

An insider told the editor that in the United States, New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Seattle and other cities have been conducting strict inspections. Among them, New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, Houston and Seattle are mainly random inspections. The value of goods is the hardest hit area for inspection. In addition, infringement, EPA, DOT, CPS, FDA, etc. are also included in the inspection. Inspection stations in many places are already full, and the inspection time will be postponed for about one week or even two weeks. For example, Miami focuses on the value of goods, infringement, EPA, DOT issues, and the inspection time is postponed for about two weeks.

The inspection rate of European customs is also very high, mainly to check for underreporting and under-reporting.

"Generally, the inspection rate of European and American customs will be higher in the second half of the year, but this year the inspection rate has been relatively high since the first half of the year. After the goods are inspected, the customs will generally inform you of the inspection issues, and then the freight forwarder will provide the corresponding information to the customs to strive for release. If it involves various qualification issues such as certificates and certifications, the goods will be more troublesome to handle, and the relevant sellers need to be prepared for cargo delays." The person familiar with the matter said.

Strikes continue in various places! Amazon workers want to hold a major strike

Customs inspections and strikes are happening one after another.

Strikes are inevitable during peak seasons, and this year is no exception. According to foreign media reports, in order to improve wages and better working conditions, the scope of the Amazon truck workers' strike has expanded from Seattle to Chicago, USA, including Amazon's SBD1, PHX3, PHX5, PHX6 and PHX7 warehouses. It is the Black Friday promotion season, which will undoubtedly affect the delivery of some goods in the warehouses.

The last leg of Cyber ​​Monday deliveries in Spain may also be disrupted. The Spanish trade union CCOO called on 20,000 warehouse and delivery workers of Amazon's local subsidiaries to strike for one hour per shift on Cyber ​​Monday (November 27)...

Recently , the two largest unions in Italy, UIL and CGIL, called on tens of thousands of workers in the central region to participate in a nationwide strike, including in multiple industries such as transportation. The impact of this nationwide strike in Italy can be said to be very wide. Affected by the strike, Amazon Spain is currently in a strike dilemma. The strike in Italy has not ended yet. It is reported that Italian unions will organize more strikes and demonstrations in the future.

Other news shows that the current cargo volume in Brazil has surged, and the speed of cargo takeoff has slowed down compared to before, and the processing capacity is under pressure. The Brazilian Customs and Brazilian Postal delivery links will experience delays to varying degrees. At the same time, the Brazilian Customs Department is under tremendous pressure and has begun a strike. The duration of the strike is currently to be determined.

Cross-border logistics is an important link in the cross-border transaction chain. Cross-border sellers should pay attention to the latest news in a timely manner and not let logistics "drag down" the order volume.

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