Western appetite for Chinese e-commerce products improves Asia's logistics landscape
Date
12/18/2023 4:41:51 AM
(MENAFN) The robust Western appetite for fast-fashion and e-commerce products from Chinese brands like Temu and Shein is reshaping the logistics landscape in Asia, intensifying competition among logistics companies. The surge in demand, particularly from customers in the United States and Europe who increasingly turned to Chinese e-commerce platforms during the pandemic, is now bolstering air freight rates. This unexpected shift in consumer behavior has proven advantageous for logistics companies, injecting vitality into a previously weak freight market.
As customers in the West continued to flock to Chinese e-commerce platforms, placing orders that often arrived within a week, air freight rates experienced a notable uptick. Logistics executives revealed that some e-commerce giants were willing to pay nearly double the typical rates, ensuring priority access to sufficient capacity and enabling them to adhere to precise delivery schedules.
Jacob Cook, CEO of WBIC Marketing + Technologies, highlighted the perceptible change in consumer behavior, noting that applications like Timo and Shein have become among the most downloaded in the United States. Noah Cook, overseeing logistics activities for brands in Asia, emphasized that the entire surge in demand is being predominantly fulfilled through air freight.
The impact of China's e-commerce boom is underscored by the contrasting trends in air and sea freight rates. While air freight rates witnessed a significant increase in the latter half of 2023, sea freight rates experienced a decline, marking a departure from the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Official customs data revealed that in the first half of the year, China shipped e-commerce goods valued at 1.1 trillion yuan, approximately $155 billion, constituting around 5.5% of its total merchandise trade. Neil Wilson, an editor at the air freight data provider Tech Index, observed a steady rise in air freight rates on commercial shipping routes originating from Hong Kong and Shanghai. These rates not only surpassed the peaks associated with Christmas deliveries but also "easily" exceeded those recorded in 2022. The transformative impact of this e-commerce-driven surge on the air freight sector underscores the dynamism and adaptability of global logistics in responding to evolving consumer trends.
MENAFN18122023000045015682ID1107616151
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.