Global freight tightens ahead of Lunar New Year: Dimerco Express Group

Air freight demand from Asia to the United States and Europe is easing slightly as February begins, with only a modest pre-Chinese New Year uplift expected.

Softer e-commerce volumes since January are likely to extend into February, keeping air freight spot rates stable or under mild downward pressure.

Intra-Asia air freight demand remains resilient compared to last year, though below the peak observed in the fourth quarter (Q4) last year. With Chinese New Year approaching, space is tightening, particularly on China to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Thailand lanes.

While demand into the US and Europe is moderating, Intra-Asia flows remain active. As Chinese New Year comes closer, space tightness on key regional lanes is becoming more visible, especially for high-tech and time-sensitive cargo, the group said in its latest Asia-Pacific Freight Report.

Ocean carriers have largely maintained a rate floor on the trans-Pacific east-bound lane through general rate increases and capacity control. However, this reflects disciplined capacity management rather than strong cargo demand. Recent attempts to push rates higher since January have mostly failed, and volumes have yet to show a clear pre-holiday surge, the report noted.

Blank sailings remain relatively low overall, but nearly half are concentrated on the trans-pacific East-bound route, signaling cautious demand expectations from carriers, it said.

With more new vessels entering the market in 2026, carriers will need to stay disciplined on capacity. Without it, oversupply could quickly trigger another rate war, the Taiwan-headquartered group said in the report.

In Northeast Asia, pre-Chinese New Year front-loading is supporting short-term demand and a post-holiday slowdown is expected.

In Southeast Asia, tight capacity and congestion is expected ahead of the Chinese New Year, while operational pressure are projected to ease after the holiday

In India, air demand will normalise post-peak with improved weather, though airspace constraints persist.

In North America, front-loading will tighten space pre-Chinese New Year, while winter weather will increase delay risks.

In Europe, weather disruption, labour actions and European Union Emissions Trading System costs are weighing on reliability and costs.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)