Ocean freight revenue increased for DHL, Expeditors and
Kuehne + Nagel, 4.5%, 2.5% and 8.5% respectively however, gross profit declined
1.8% for DHL and increased 1.3% for Kuehne + Nagel. Meanwhile, air freight revenue declined for
DHL and Expeditors, 8.2% and 3.0% respectively. Airfreight gross profit
declined 8.9% for DHL. Panalpina reported for its Americas region, gross
profits increased 4.6% thanks to “strong trade flows on the transpacific lane”.
Rate volatility continued as capacity remained an issue. DHL
noted declines in airfreight demand in the high tech and engineering and
manufacturing industries. Panalpina also noted declines in demand from the high
tech industry as well as the chemicals industry. There were some gains within the
airfreight market. For example, Panalpina reported “double-digit” volume growth
in the consumer and retail, healthcare and oil and gas industries whereas
Kuehne + Nagel “increased market share” in the pharmaceutical, perishables and
aviation industries. Still, overall airfreight volumes declined for DHL (-5.9%), Panalpina (-3.0%) and Kuehne +
Nagel (-2.0%). Expeditors noted a slight increase, thanks to a 16% increase in January;
however, the company ended the quarter with a 0.4% increase in airfreight
volumes.
Despite an overall decline in volumes, Panalpina’s Americas
region recorded a 5.0% increase in airfreight volumes. The Americas region
makes up 24% of the company’s total airfreight volumes and was the only region
to report a gain. Meanwhile, Kuehne + Nagel’s Americas region reported no
change in volume.
Stagnation appears to be the best description for the overall
ocean freight market. DHL noted volumes stagnated on east-west tradelanes while
Kuehne + Nagel noted stagnation throughout the ocean freight market.
Overcapacity and volatile rates remain issues with this market.
By volume, DHL, Panalpina and Kuehne + Nagel recorded gains
in overall ocean freight volume. DHL volumes increased 2.1%, Panalpina volumes
increased 7.0%, a first quarter volume record for the company and Kuehne +
Nagel reported a 2.3% volume increase. Expeditors, however, reported a 4%
decline noting monthly declines throughout the quarter.
For the Americas region, Panalpina reported a 3.0% increase
in volume while Kuehne + Nagel reported a 4.0% increase in volume for its
Americas region.
The outlook for the freight forwarding market remains
questionable. The need to right-size capacity and stabilize rates are needed as
well as improvement in the global economy to stimulate demand. Still, it
appears the Americas region was a bright spot for several freight forwarders.
