There were few signs of air cargo front loading ahead of the end of the EU’s de minimis exemption on 1 July, compared to activity last year ahead of various US import tariff deadlines and the removal of US ‘de minimis’ exemptions, according to WorldACD Market Data.
The market intelligence firm said that air cargo volumes from China and Hong Kong to Europe in fact fell by 8% and 9%, week on week, respectively, in the last full week of June (week 26: 22 to 28 June), after also recording a small week on week decline the previous week.
“One explanation is that lessons have been learned since the end of US de minimis exemptions last year, and there are now low-cost customs filing solutions available that can limit the costs of customs declarations to just a few cents per item, compared with several dollars per item last year at the time of the removal of US de minimis exemptions,” stated WorldACD.
As of 1 July, the EU introduced a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value parcels imported from outside the EU, mainly through e-commerce.
EU member states agreed in December to introduce the customs duty charge per item on parcels valued below €150.
This is intended to bridge the gap until the EU Customs Data Hub is launched in 2028, at which point a full Customs regime will apply to all parcels with automated duty calculation.
The US government’s decision in April last year to end the de minimis exemption for imports from China valued at less than $800 resulted in increased costs and a drop in demand on China-US routes. The policy was extended to apply to all countries of origin from the end of August last year.
China’s e-commerce export volumes shifted from China-US to China-Europe, although volumes to the US did recover.
However, while there doesn’t appear to be the same pattern of front loading for China-Europe trade as there was for China-Europe last year, figures from data provider and consultant Rotate show that dedicated direct freighter capacity from China and Hong Kong to the EU over a 48-hour period starting Monday 29 July was down 19% compared with the previous week.
Other Asia-Europe declines
There were also week on week tonnage declines to Europe in week 26 from other important Asia Pacific export markets, such as Vietnam, down 7%, and Thailand, down 9%, said WorldACD.
This contributed to an average 7% week on week fall in tonnages from Asia Pacific to Europe. Average spot rates from Asia Pacific to Europe edged 2% downwards week on week to $5.26 per kilo in week 26, but they remain 38% higher on a year on year basis.
Overall, global tonnages in June were 9% higher than the same month last year.
The strong June year on year tonnage growth was shared by most of the main air cargo origin regions, led by year on year increases from the Middle East & South Asia. This region was up 11%, partially driven by Eid al-Adha held in May this year vs June last year.
Asia Pacific saw an increase of 10%, North America was up 9%, Europe climbed 7%, and Central & South America was up 7%. Meanwhile Africa’s growth was more subdued, up just 1%.
Worldwide air cargo rates remained high in June, despite the ongoing return of capacity to Middle East and Gulf markets, with average full-market rates around one third (+33%) higher year on year.
