Airfreight: Rates and capacities remain volatile
US tariff policy makes supply chains extremely vulnerable and requires agility.
The airfreight team at a. hartrodt breathes a sigh of relief: "The fact that the US government has extended the pause for additional tariffs on EU goods until August 1, 2025, has a short-term relaxing effect," says Stefan Goestl, Airfreight Manager Germany at a. hartrodt at Munich Airport. However, the situation has not calmed down: "The closer the deadline gets, the more the situation is coming to a head again in view of the recently announced tariffs." According to the expert, the tariff dispute is affecting both capacities and rates. He advises customers to book in good time and "choose the express option". This avoids "offloads", where shipments are rebooked for a later flight.
Rising demand from Europe to Latin America
Stefan Goestl points out that the currently "extremely fragile" supply chains require "an enormous amount of agility". This applies to all trade lanes to the USA – whether from Europe, Asia or South America. Nadine Wild, Manager Pricing & Procurement Airfreight at a. hartrodt in Frankfurt, has noticed an increasing demand for airfreight from Europe to Mexico and South America, which is reflected in "longer transit times and increased freight rates".
Stable rate levels from Asia to Europe
Although Nadine Wild expects the overall rate of Europe–US trade to continue to rise, the level of Asian exports to Europe will remain constant. This is due to the ongoing e-commerce boom via Asian online platforms. Stefan Goestl sees the growing passenger demand for flights as an additional driver, which is increasing belly freight capacity. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global passenger traffic rose by 5.0 percent in May compared to the same month last year. At the same time, airfreight demand in cargo tonne-kilometers increased by 2.2 percent.
For the third quarter of 2025, the experts at a. hartrodt anticipate the strongest airfreight growth for raw materials, fashion and consumer goods. Meanwhile, the downward trend for automotive is likely to continue.