Retailers seen veering towards air freight to compete

Retailers and their suppliers are looking to rationalise traditional supply chain routes from factories to localised warehouses, and in many cases they are mixing air and sea freight solutions. Marcus Ng, regional head of air freight, Asia Pacific, at AP Møller–Maersk, notes that the sea-air option – where some products are shipped rapidly by air and others less quickly by the ocean – has been particularly attractive to some lifestyle apparel retailing customers. Such companies are keen to ensure fast delivery of products, especially new product launches, to the market rather than using only ocean shipping options. He expects sea-air to become more popular this year – especially at a time when the cost of sea freight has soared on the back of international cross-border conflicts. He concludes that the forwarders and their client shippers will have to be agile in their strategy and decision-making, as per a report.