Airforwarders Association (AfA) said forwarders must prepare for an airfreight volume crunch driven by a lack of ocean capacity.

Brandon Fried, executive director of Airforwarders Association told members of the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association (LAACA) that members can adapt to this expected challenge surge in demand for US air cargo capacity through better communication.

This as the association noted that the forecasted surge in demand for US air cargo capacity will be largely driven by a lack of sailing with ocean suppliers.

"The capacity crunch will be driven by a perfect storm of cancelled China to US sailings, congestion at US airports, warehouse scarcity, labor shortage, and rising inflation," Fried said.

"The challenges for ocean carriers are well documented and we understand that they are looking after profit margins, but air capacity is already constrained by multiple factors," he added.

Congestion at major airports

The Airforwarders Association chief noted that "congestion at major airports is exacerbating the strain on supply chains across the US."

"AfA is already meeting this challenge, driving the debate and developing new strategies to help the industry unite and find a common voice."

Fried said last month, AfA launched its Airport Congestion Committee (ACC) as a key example of the Association's proactive stance on this expected capacity crunch.

"The air cargo community, and the transport industry at large, has been served up an alphabet of disasters over the past few years but AfA has continued to support its members and campaign for the air cargo community at large," Fried said.

"We do this not only through lobbying on behalf of our members but also by actively creating solutions to speed up the passing of necessary legislation by the US government."