DSV expands air cargo pharma product with Shanghai connection

Freight forwarder DSV is expanding its end-to-end pharma service Air ThermoDirect to include flights between Luxembourg and Shanghai Pudong. The pharma service is offered on multiple departures on dedicated freighter aircraft, with DSV controlling the scheduling, routing, and cargo handling to ensure greater reliability. The new connection will utilise Eastern Air Logistics' (EAL) specialised ground handling facilities in Shanghai and is further strengthened by ground handling agent partner China Eastern Logistics Cold Chain, which will provide "dedicated cold chain expertise and infrastructure". The company also plans to add a link between Indianapolis International Airport and Shanghai in the future. Kenneth Kallström, executive vice president, global enterprise vertical head, healthcare, said: "This is not just an expansion of our temperature-controlled network. It is a strategic gateway to Greater China and the broader Asian market. "DSV is helping customers improve supply chain efficiency, reduce operating costs, and ensure the integrity of critical healthcare products across one of the world's fastest-growing regions. "Through our sustainable reusable thermal packaging programme, we are reducing packaging waste and improving the environmental performance of cold chain logistics." The forwarder said that Shanghai Pudong serves as a key hub for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical cargo and plays a central role in connecting international manufacturers with the Asian healthcare market. "By expanding its presence at PVG, DSV strengthens its ability to support both inbound and outbound pharmaceutical flows with consistent, high-quality handling," DSV explained. The additional lane is the second expansion of the Air ThermoDirect service this year after the forwarder launched a new Luxembourg (LUX) to Indianapolis International (IND) pharma air route in June. Indianapolis is one of the US' fastest-growing life sciences and healthcare logistics hubs.

No expectations of an imminent EU ecommerce rebound

Global ecommerce air cargo growth has flattened this year following a surge in capacity and regulatory intervention, delegates at the EU CBEC ecommerce forum in Liege heard today. Speaking at the forum, CEO of Rotate Ryan Keyrouse said ecommerce volumes had grown 23% since 2024 but were now flat. Mr Keyrouse noted that political intervention has emerged as the biggest threat - something industry respondents had already identified as the leading risk two years ago in a Rotate survey. "Politically marketed policies. That definitely happened," he said, pointing to the recent de minimis measures introduced in Europe and the US. Rotate highlighted the impact of the EU's regulatory changes that became apparent in July, shorty after their introduction. That month witnessed 24% decline in ecommerce volumes, alongside a 28% fall in freighter capacity to Europe. Mr Keyrouse illustrated that this is the equivalent of around 5,000 freighter flights a year having disappeared from the market. He revelaed that these capacity reductions have been unevenly distributed, creating winners and losers among European gateways. EU ecommerce gateways such as Liège, Amsterdam and Budapest all suffered significant declines, with Budapest's capacity falling by almost 60% between June and August. "We didn't really see that capacity out of China be redistributed elsewhere," Mr Keyrouse commented. Instead, the reduction has largely come through lower utilisation and the parking of older, converted freighters, particularly less fuel-efficient aircraft. Rotate's latest sentiment survey, based on more than 100 industry responses, found most respondents did not expect European ecommerce volumes to rebound immediately after the summer. "The answer is not for another six months," Mr Keyrouse said. Others believe the market will settle into a permanent but stable decline, while only a minority expect an immediate recovery. Any displaced ecommerce demand is nevertheless expected to find new markets, with respondents identifying Latin America and the Middle East and Africa as the most likely areas for future growth, although Southeast Asia and non-EU European markets also featured. However, ecommerce is not the only major growth engine for air cargo. Technology and AI-related hardware have expanded rapidly, with cloud computing, computers and semiconductors driving demand. Outside China, technology-related goods now account for 68% of Asia-Pacific exports, according to Rotate, reflecting the acceleration of the "China plus one" manufacturing strategy. Overall, Rotate forecasts total air cargo demand will grow 3% over the next 12 months, broadly in line with projected capacity growth of 3.3%.

Africa-Far East growth stalls as Asia exports surge

Data and sentiment finally appear to be aligning on the Africa-Far East tradelane, with growth stalling on goods headed to Asia, just as forwarders had been predicting, but for those shipping out of Asia, the picture is markedly healthier. The most recent release from Container Trades Statistics (CTS), which publishes two months in arrears, shows that the Africa-Far East volume growth rate collapsed to a negligible 0.6% year on year for June. Forwarders active on the lane told The Loadstar that volumes had caught up with what they had been seeing on the ground for several months, noting the equipment shortages across Africa and congestion in Singapore were "making themselves felt". Asked how things looked today, one forwarder told The Loadstar that it was "much of a muchness on rates and volumes," since April, when they noted that Far East volumes had diminished, while Middle East volumes have been all but wiped out. Rates remained largely unchanged headed in both directions, according to the CTS numbers, but if Africa-Far East was struggling for momentum, the same could not be said in the reverse direction, with Africa-bound volumes surging 25.1% year on year. The trade has maintained double-digit growth for every month of the year to date, according to CTS, with February proving particularly strong, hitting a year-on-year upturn of 63.7%, while May, April, and March were 28.4%, 17.2%, and 19.7%, respectively. Sources claimed one of the reasons for the upswing has been the improvement in Africa economies and a slew of investment - both internal and external to improve the shape of the continent's economies. A consequence of this has been that carriers are increasingly recognising it as a pillar of their growth momentum over the coming years, although labour disputes in South Africa are purportedly threatening this. Speaking late last month, one forwarder told The Loadstar: "Honestly, it is a shit show. ICTSI has taken over one of the terminals and, apparently, productivity at the gateway has in fact worsened since. As to getting goods moved, it's a crapshoot."