Greece Freight Forwarding Services
Air, Sea & Road Freight Between Greece and the UK

K+N claims market share gains as 'strong' air cargo peak gathers pace

Kuehne + Nagel attributed most of its third-quarter airfreight growth to market share gains, and expects to keep winning business into 2027 as a strong peak season gets under way. Airfreight volumes rose 10% year on year, with chief executive Stefan Paul estimating underlying market growth at 3-4% and attributing 60-70% of K+N's growth to market share gains. "[It's] pretty much coming from hard cargo. Hard cargo had a double-digit increase in terms of volume this quarter, and ecommerce went down significantly," he told analysts yesterday. Asked whether further market share gains would follow next year, he replied: "Similar to this year, it should continue." Separate analysis from Aevean illustrates the weakening backdrop for Chinese low-value ecommerce air exports. Tonnage fell 19% year on year in September, taking the decline over the first nine months to 4%. Low-value ecommerce volumes to Europe halved in September, while those to North America were down 4%. Technology has also replaced business lost from the automotive sector, revealing a longer-term shift in the forwarder's airfreight customer base. Mr Paul recalled that, five to seven years ago, K+N had a strong automotive business out of Europe, serving major manufacturers and their first- and second-tier suppliers. That business had been replaced by technology cargo, he said. "I wouldn't say we have an overdependency now on this, but it has replaced the shrinking auto sector on a one-to-one basis." Management declined to quantify its technology exposure or specify the contribution of hyperscaler customers to growth. However, chief financial officer Markus Blanka-Graff confirmed that "the hyperscaler is a good part of our growth in 2026". "I think our view currently is that growth in that space, with the customers we continuously gain, is also going to continue into 2027," he added. Mr Paul said half of K+N's airfreight capacity came from its own charter operations, with the remainder covered by block space agreements. Improving the cargo mix, with a focus on hard cargo, would remain a priority into next year, he added. Mr Blanka-Graff explained: "The stronger profitability, the stronger margins are on the hard cargo side and special products, healthcare side, hi-tech side." However, one analyst questioned why the changing mix was not producing a stronger airfreight yield performance. Management reiterated its expectation of stable yields, without quantifying the contribution from the shift in cargo. K+N's airfreight volumes increased 7% sequentially in the third quarter, while ebit rose 84% year on year, to CHF169m ($205m). Its air logistics conversion rate reached 32%, against 23% a year earlier. Mr Paul said the forwarder expected its third-quarter volume development to continue into Q4, with stable yields. "We have just started in the peak season, but I would say it's strong. Is it even stronger than the Q3? [That's] to be seen, but it's definitely strong." Meanwhile, airlines are adding winter capacity. Qatar Airways Cargo has announced weekly 777 freighter services through Copenhagen from 25 October, and Warsaw-Chicago from 26 October, followed by a weekly rotation serving New York and Atlanta from 1 November. It has also introduced twice-weekly Dallas freighters. IAG Cargo's winter schedule includes three weekly Gatwick-Colombo flights, scheduled to begin today, alongside a doubling of Gatwick-Bangkok frequencies to six a week, broadening forwarders' bellyhold options on Asian lanes.

Cathay Cargo sees volumes boom in September

Hong Kong-based Cathay Cargo, the freight division within the Cathay Group, carried more than 150,000 tonnes of cargo last month (September), a figure up by 14.2% on the same month of last year. Cathay chief customer and commercial officer pointed to the increase being driven by "resilient cargo demand". Capacity as measured in available freight tonne km (AFTKs) was up by 5.3% year on year. Over the first nine months of 2026, total tonnage carried was up by 8.9% compared with the same period of 2025, reaching a figure of 1.3m tonnes. Over that same period, capacity rose by 3.3% year on year. The cargo load factor reached 58.9% in September, up by 1.8% on the same month of 2025. The cargo load factor also averaged 58.9% over the first three quarters of this year, up by 0.8% year on year. Lau observed: "We continued to see year-on-year tonnage growth in September, with demand remaining resilient from the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia. "In terms of our specialist solutions, Cathay Priority maintained its momentum, boosted by time-critical shipments from Southeast Asia, while continued semiconductor flows underpinned strong demand for our Cathay Expert solution. "Looking ahead, we expect demand to strengthen further as we approach the traditional year-end air cargo peak season, supported by a positive market outlook for the fourth quarter." Lau did also point to more worrying "elevated" jet fuel prices, however, that increase airline costs. Earlier this month, Cathay Cargo confirmed that it had added more transpacific freighter capacity between its home hub at Hong Kong International Airport and Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico, as part of its plans to move more technology-related shipments during the peak season. Jonathan Ng, head of cargo hub operations & development at Cathay, had announced in September that transpacific freighter capacity would be added to cater for growth in semiconductor and data-centre equipment shipments but did not specify where.

Intra-Asia rates soften as congestion at major ports begins to ease

Intra-Asia rates are receding from their recent highs as bottlenecks in major Chinese and other Asian ports subside. On 15 October, Drewry's Intra-Asia Container Index dipped 3%, to an average of $1,453 per 40ft. Rates from Shanghai to key destinations, including Busan in South Korea, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in India, softened as vessel waiting times declined. The Golden Week holiday in China also gave ports an opportunity to clear cargo backlogs, helping improve schedule reliability. Linerlytica calculated that North Asia now accounted for 37% of global port congestion, which is still the highest among all regions, but down from 50% last month. Rates from Shanghai to Nhava Sheva fell 11%, to $3,370 per 40ft, while those to Busan declined 8% to $1,000 per 40ft. Shanghai-Singapore rates dropped 7% to $1,973 per 40ft. Port congestion eased during Week 41, with average vessel waiting times at Busan at 23 hours, from 26 hours a week earlier. At Jawaharlal Nehru Port, waiting times declined to 24 hours, from 42, and Singapore recorded a decrease to 34 hours, from 50. The improvement comes amid subdued demand across Greater China-to-North-east, South-east and South Asia trades, further contributing to the recent decline in spot rates. However, the deteriorating situation in the Middle East continued to support freight rates on the Shanghai-Jebel Ali route, which remained elevated, at $8,416 per 40ft. Elsewhere, rates across South-east and North-east Asia trade routes were largely stable, with increases recorded on those originating in Busan and Yokohama. Freight rates from Busan to Shanghai rose 4%, to $159 per 40ft, with Yokohama to Shanghai up 4%, to $120 per 40ft. Despite the recent pullback, the intra-Asia container freight market has remained resilient this year, the IACI surging 198% year on year. Elevated bunker costs and the US-Iran tension have continued to add to carriers' operating expenses, with Brent crude prices remaining above $100 per barrel since early September. Meanwhile, shipping lines continue to introduce new services amid the firm market. OOCL is set to expand its regional network tomorrow, with the launch of its China-Cambodia-Thailand (CCT4) service connecting Nansha and Shekou in South China with Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Songkhla in Thailand. And MSC yesterday announced Jasmine, a solo China-Singapore-Indonesia service for 4 November, when the 2,169 teu MSC Wind II arrives at Shanghai. The service will call Shanghai-Ningbo-Shekou-Singapore-Surabaya-Semarang-Singapore-Shanghai.