Further evidence of surging consumer demand in the Asia Pacific surfaced last week when DHL Global Forwarding began deploying a second dedicated Boeing 747-400 Freighter to connect the US, Europe and Asia.
According to spokesmen, the division is responding to strong growth in demand for air cargo, chiefly for outbound services out of Asia and on the conventional transpacific route, fueled by almost all industries.
This second flight is in addition to the first around-the-world air cargo service that was established late last year.
The company said that the first flight was “a crucial step” in responding to the increasing exports of the Norwegian seafood industry and generating efficient capacities for shippers along that route from Brussels to Oslo, Seoul, Shanghai, Cincinnati and back to Brussels.
In an interview, David Goldberg, CEO DHL Global Forwarding, U.S., said the demand for air freight capacity on the Transpacific continues to soar, with an important focus at the moment on China and South Korea.
“The U.S. to Asia demand is fueled by all major industries, especially China’s electronics industry and demands from the industrial, pharmaceutical and automotive sectors,” said Goldberg. “Cargo demand is currently exceeding the supply of capacity so we made the decision to deploy more self-controlled capacity into the market, showing our commitment and trust that these markets will continue to grow at a very fast rate.”
Goldberg also noted that the continuation of this strong demand is reflected in DHL’s own DHL Global Trade Barometer, which signals strong global trade over the next three months.