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In the quest to shrink the outsized climate impact of air travel, airlines across the globe have vowed to consume vast quantities of greener jet fuel. But most airlines are lagging far behind their pledges, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of corporate environmental filings for 2023.

A new air-freight route officially opened between Urumqi, capital city of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Bournemouth in Britain, on Monday August 19th.

Airfreight has a critical role to play in boosting economic growth, already contributing £230m of the £185bn logistics businesses add in value to the UK economy.

Recent announcements are a welcome sign that the government is serious about supporting the sector, specifically by accelerating the transition to net zero aviation.

Container capacity has been stretched by demand and the longer routings to avoid the Red Sea, resulting in extended transits reducing available capacity. And the differential between air and ocean cargo rates has dropped significantly in recent months.

Air freight operators have seen a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions, with a 25% increase compared to 2019, according to a recent analysis by the campaign group Stand.earth. The study reveals that in 2023, air freight operators conducted approximately 300,000 more flights than in 2019, marking an almost 30% rise in flight volume. The United States alone accounted for over 40% of global air freight emissions.

Insights Stable Logistics Activity: The UK's logistics activity index is expected to remain steady throughout 2024.

Freight Projections: Road freight is projected to stay consistent, while both sea and air freight are showing significant signs of recovery.

Economic Outlook: 38% of respondents anticipate economic improvement in the sector.

Sector Focus: Emphasis is placed on technology, decarbonisation, and the need for government support in infrastructure and regulations.

When chatgpt took everyone by storm in November 2022, it was Openai, the startup behind it, that seized the business world’s attention. But, as usual, big tech is back on the front foot. Nvidia, maker of accelerator chips that are at the core of generative artificial intelligence (ai), is duelling with Microsoft, a tech giant of longer standing, to be the world’s most valuable company. Like Microsoft, it is investing in a diverse ecosystem of startups that it hopes will strengthen its lead. Predictably, given the “techlash” mindset of the regulatory authorities, both firms are high on the watch list of antitrust agencies.

“Rates are going bonkers on the sea, and crazy rates can lead to unreliable services – which is good for airfreight. The air cargo industry is not really in control of its own destiny, it has ups and downs, but just imagine if ecommerce wasn’t there.”

An airfreight forwarder in Shanghai added: “I have personally not yet seen any declines in the e-commerce business, even after the news that US and EU Customs are checking small parcels out of China more strictly.

Air cargo volumes remain elevated from major Asian and Middle Eastern origins, especially to Europe, amid cascading effects on port productivity resulting from the effective closure of container lines’ Red Sea shortcut because of the Middle East conflict.