The ongoing disruptions in container shipping due to the crisis in the Red Sea are putting more pressure on air cargo, according to the latest data from WorldACD.

The air cargo market data provider said air cargo demand and rates from Asia Pacific origins continue to soar well above last year's levels.

Its figures show that in the last two weeks, overall Asia Pacific tonnages have increased 20% year over year, and rates are 16% ahead of the year-ago level, although WorldACD noted some "big variations" between various origins.

 [Source: WorldACD]

"Shippers face significant shortages of both air and ocean freight capacity due to strong demand and disrupted sea freight services," WorldACD said.

"Those disruptions to container shipping services, in part caused by the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, have been exacerbated further in recent weeks due to port congestion and vessel capacity shortages in certain key markets, driving more cargo owners to air cargo solutions," it added.

The WorldACD report said for several weeks, air cargo spot rates from Vietnam to Europe have been more than double their equivalent level this time last year, averaging US$4.19 per kilo in the last seven weeks. 

But spot rates to Europe are up significantly, year-on-year (YoY), from most of the main Asia Pacific origin markets in week 23, including a 32% increase from China and 18% from Hong Kong, by far the region's largest origin markets.

Meanwhile, WorldACD said demand and rates on the transpacific market are also highly elevated compared with last year, with average spot rates to the USA from Asia Pacific and China origins standing at US$5.23 (up 51%, YoY) and US$5.30 per kilo (up 38%, YoY), respectively.

The total worldwide chargeable weight flown in weeks 22 and 23 slipped slightly by 1% compared with the previous two weeks, but worldwide tonnages were up by 12% year over year.