b'34American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(FRONTIERcontinued from page 29) the US and Europe at 80%+ compared to only half thatThereweresomeinitialbenefitstoaircargo The end state is one where software as we knowpercentage in the opposite direction. volumeswhentheattacksfirstbeganbutoverthe ituser interfaces, dashboards, applicationsgivesAt the time, the risk of this weighing on airlineslast 18 months it seems that most supply chains have waytoanewmodelofdigitaloperations:agenticround-tripyieldswasoffset,atleastpartially,bytherebalanced and accommodated the longer sailing times. systems, Kennedy concludes. In this future, there arebuoyant level of westbound rates which compensated forNevertheless, disruption in the Red Sea will continue to no buttons to push or dashboards to monitor. Instead,the relatively low rates into China. impact maritime pricing, efficiency and overall capacity apps talk to apps. Services exchange information in realBut with rates ex-China now coming under pressureavailability, keeping rates higher than historical norms. time. Machines communicate directly with machines,due to demand shocks arising from tariff impositions,The reduction in the rate differential between ocean and coordinatingdecisionsandexecutingtaskswithoutround-trip yields will suffer, Hughes warned. air means air cargo remains an attractive option.needing human intermediaries. On the plus side, the first quarter of the year had seen cargo carriers demonstrate a flexible use of their fleets,e nd oF de MiniMistaking advantage of the lull in demand post-Lunar NewOnepotentiallymajorconcernforaircargois (PATHcontinued from page 32) Year and switching aircraft from China and Hong Kongtheimpendingendofthedeminimistradeloophole/could ultimately dismantle international trade frameworks. to Africa to cater for Valentines Day flower demand outexemption for Chinese goods, set to take effect from 3The policies and actions taken and the retaliatoryof the continent, he revealed. May, fueling fears of a further decline in cross-border measures they are provoking will ruin global commerce.Flexibility and agility are keywords for effectivee-commerce into the U.S. - a flourishing activity for the Unilateral,protectionisttradedecisionsunderminefleetmanagementinresponsetoever-shiftingmarketsector in recent years.multilateral agreements and will strain global economicconditions. Capacity needs to follow demand spikes. Hugheshadpreviouslycommentedthatsucha interdependence. move would add significant cost and complexity to the Economic slowdown is an expected outcome, he noted,d oWnturn ing roWthF oreCAst ? trade.Forexample,ane-commerceshipmentthatis withconsumersbeatingaretreatbecauseofinevitableAtawebinarearlierthisyear,Hughessaidthatworth $5 could be subject to $5 or $10 in filing fees and price rises for staple items, reducing discretionary spend. TIACA was expecting air cargo demand to grow by 5%administrative costs which could affect inbound demand.Ultimately, trade flows will slow and shift. But airin 2025, the projection based on economic stability beingWe need to see the final legislation to accurately cargo will be ready to respond wherever we are needed. Inat its highest level for several years. However, the recentdeterminethefullimpact.However,asitsintentis the meantime, we call upon governments across the globeevents have called this forecast into question. toincreasedataandinformationrelatedtolowvalue to refocus attention on interdependent economic growth. Unfortunately, I think the policies we are seeing frome-commerce shipments to combat illegal and counterfeit the Trump administration are likely to have a far-reachingtrade, it is reasonable to assume that it is likely to add F irstQ uArterr evieW impact across the entire global economy. The increase intime and complexity to the shipping process. It will also Lookingbackonthefirstfewmonthsof2025,tariffs implemented in the first weeks of April, targetingincrease the number of inspections so CBP will need to Hughes said air cargo markets had performed quite wellautomotive and other industries and the anticipation ofadjust manpower accordingly.considering the volatile global trade environment. further retaliatory measures in return, only add to market However, the prevailing trend in air cargo mirrors thatuncertainty. So, its reasonable to assume that volumes will on the ocean freight side where volumes and rates havecome under pressure and growth prospects will take a hit.(TRENDScontinued from page 32)declined on the China-US trade since the imposition of 10%At this stage, its difficult to analyze full year expectationsmake agile, data-driven decisionsultimately ushering tariffs, from 1 February, on Chinese-origin US imports. but 5% (growth) may be very difficult to achieve. in a new era of supply chain efficiency.Wesawsomeacceleratedshipmentstryingto movebeforetariffswereappliedbutwevealsoseenr eds eAd isruption A dvAnCedg en Aiother shipments cancelled as the hike in duties meantAccording to some commentators, the prospect ofTheuseofgenerative AI(GenAI)inlogisticshas the cargo was no longer economically viable. We havesafe ship navigation returning in the Red Sea/Suez Canaladvanced far beyond applying large language models to also seen a decline in Asia-U.S. e-commerce, and thiszone has been put back by at least six months because ofsynthesize information and generate text, explains Mark may get worse as we await impending changes to U.S. dethe U.S. attacks in March on Houthi positions in Yemen. Albrecht, VP for Artificial Intelligence at C.H. Robinson, minimis/filing requirements. However, Hughes played down the degree of modalnoting that GenAI agents can provide price quotes, process Air cargo data at the end of last year showed airshift air cargo has enjoyed at the expense of ocean freight,orders,acquiretruckingcapacity,setappointmentsfor cargo load factors on the ex-China/Far East trade lane todue to the routing disruption. pickup and delivery, and check on loads in transit.Book Your Booth! tl-americas.org/exhibitorsNovember 11-13, 2025Miami Beach Convention CenterFlorida, USAtl-americas.orgaircargoamericas.com'