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The global freight forwarding market is seen to rise in real terms by 2.4% this year, reaching a market value of €198,934,1 million, according to the Global Freight Forwarding 2024 Report from Ti Insight
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Credit for the modest growth goes to the resilient air and sea freight forwarding market, predicted to expand by 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively.
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Worldwide growth of the air and sea freight forwarding market this year is seen to remain stable albeit underwhelming
The global freight forwarding market is seen to rise in real terms by 2.4% this year, reaching a market value of €198,934,1 million (about $209,547.1 million), according to the Global Freight Forwarding 2024 Report from Ti Insight.
Credit for the modest growth goes to the resilient air and sea freight forwarding market, predicted to expand by 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively.
On the demand side, worldwide growth of the air and sea freight forwarding market this year is seen to remain stable albeit underwhelming, according to the IMF October 2024 forecasts.
The downward revisions to the outlook for the Middle East, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa were caused by disruptions to production and shipping of commodities. This was compensated by upgrades to the forecast for emerging Asia, where surging demand for semiconductors and electronics have bolstered growth, driven by large investments in artificial intelligence.
Also, cyclical imbalances have gone down since the start of 2024, resulting in a better alignment of economic activity with potential output in major economies. This pushed inflation rates across countries closer together, contributing to lower global inflation.
The main drivers of air and sea freight demand like export orders and trade volumes were still robust.
The World Trade Organization observed that this year, global merchandise trade rose by 2.3% year-on-year in the first semester, with more moderate expansion expected in the second semester.
The recovery follows a -1.1% slide last year, caused by rising interest rates and high inflation.
The size of the air freight forwarding market will hit 88,069.8 million euros ($92,768.32 million) this year.
In the first half of 2024, the market is seen to have risen by 9.6%, and for the full year it is estimated to climb by 2.2% in real terms.
The booming e-commerce volumes have pushed the air cargo market to higher demand this year. As an example, the cumulative air freight traffic for the first semester is seen to reach 103.3 billion ton kilometers, indicating an exceptionally resilient first half for air cargo demand.
This exceeds even the record levels seen in the first semester of 2021. For the first half of this year, overall capacity growth totaled 9.4% year-on-year.
With strong consumer spending resulting in lower inventory levels, demand for air freight services has risen. Also, continued shipping disruptions could lead to an even higher peak season for the rest of 2024.
As for the sea freight forwarding market in 2024, growth of 2.5% is forecast, reaching a market value of 110,864.3 million euros. The rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope played a key role in freight rates, with a surge reaching a one-year peak.
Congestion at some ports has worsened short-term disruptions in the supply chain, which influenced freight rates and overall market dynamics.
Moreover, new regulations focused on environmental sustainability and emissions reduction influenced efficiency and operational costs.
Still, the sea freight forwarding market is seen to stay resilient this year.
READ: Global freight forwarding market seen to expand 1.7% in 2024
