Air cargo rates remain firm, despite disruptions: TAC Index

Air cargo rates remained firm in May despite trade disruption creating intra-month volatility, according to the latest market report from TAC Index. The overall global Baltic Air Freight Index rose 1.2% compared with April, but remained 5.4% lower than a year ago. “However, an array of countervailing trends led to a lot of intra-month volatility and dispersion in rate patterns on different lanes,” TAC editor Neil Wilson said in his market review. At the start of the month, tariffs implemented by the US on China had been at 145% before a 90-day truce was called and duties settled down to 30%. Tariffs on e-commerce goods have also been lowered to 54% or a flat fee of $100 for postal shipments, or 30% for those using commercial airlines.