The airfreight index posted strong gains for the month. For
the current situation, the index noted a 2.8 point jump from September to 48.1.
While still below the 50-level, this is the highest point for the airfreight
current situation since the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index began in early
2012. By tradelane, the Europe outbound lanes contributed the biggest increases
with Europe to Asia lane increasing 4.1 points to 46.5 and the Europe to US
lane increasing 4.0 points to 51.9. This strong outbound increase may be
attributed to the fact that Eurozone export orders reached a 27-month high in
August. Meanwhile, the Asia to Europe lane increased a healthy 2.9 points to
48.5 thanks to improving economic conditions in Europe. However, the US to
Europe lane dipped 0.3 points to 45.4.
The Logistics Confidence index continues to indicate
increasing optimism among European airfreight forwarders in regards to the next
six months for airfreight. In particular, the Europe to Asia lane which noted
the largest gain from September, increasing 5.0 points to 60.2.
Despite continued rate declines and overcapacity, the overall
sea freight index noted a 0.5 increase to 54.6. A decline was noted in the present
situation which fell 1.3 points to 47.1. However, the expectations for the next
six months improved 2.4 points to 62.1. For the present situation, all lanes
except the Europe to US lane noted declines with Europe to Asia lane reporting
the biggest decline of 1.3 points to 48.5. The Europe to US lane, despite the
only lane to note a positive increase, only increased 0.2 points to 43.8. The six
month outlook was a bit more positive with all lanes reporting positive gains
with the Asia to Europe lane noting the largest increase of 3.7 points to 64.0.
In this month's unique question, we asked survey
participants if emerging markets are a part of their company’s growth strategy.
An overwhelming majority of survey participants noted yes at 83.9% while 16.1%
indicated no. For those that indicated emerging markets as an important part of
their strategy, Africa, Brazil, China, Thailand, India and Turkey were the most
cited emerging markets for growth prospects.
The Logistics Confidence Index continues to show strong
optimism for the next six months, jumping 2.6 points to 61.7 for the month. Confidence
is on the rise as freight forwarders expect improving market conditions and
increases in volumes.
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