Although there are trends in Asia towards supply chain regionalization, a spokesperson for Kuehne+Nagel noted that moving production from country to country is not a simple process. “Decoupling is about finding alternatives for future growth and complementing the advantages of the Chinese market. We believe that China will continue to play a very important role in the supply chain also in the future.”

E-commerce and online shopping are driving the company’s volumes on trans-Pacific routes. In January 2021, it will complete its first year of freighter operations to Campinas, Brazil; Santiago; and Bogotá. Qatar Airways also offers belly capacity on its passenger flights to and from Sao Paulo.

E-commerce, which was growing at double-digit rates prior to the pandemic, has accelerated its impact on the air cargo market as more businesses shifted to online selling platforms, a Boeing spokesperson says, making dedicated freighters critical for air freight carriers.

Breakbulk and project heavy lift carrier AAL Shipping delivered a cable carousel measuring 23 metres in diameter (73-metre circumference) to the Formosa 2 offshore wind farm project. The cargo was loaded in Jebel Ali and transported on deck of the 19,000 dwt heavy lift multipurpose vessel AAL Nanjing to the project marshalling port Taichung, Taiwan.