Soaring consumer demand has been behind a surge in global trade, according to a new report.
It comes as retailers are making their own short-term shipping arrangements to mitigate any shortages of the Christmas period.
The global freight forwarding market saw double-digit growth across almost all regions in the first half (H1) of 2021, says the report by logistics market research specialists Ti Insight.
North America and Asia Pacific have been leading the recovery with H1 growth of 22.6 per cent and 21.8 per cent respectively.
Overall growth of 19 per cent bought the industry’s post-pandemic market value to €195,072m.
Growth in air and sea traffic
Air forwarding expanded at 26 per cent while the sea forwarding market saw slower growth of 10.4 per cent.
However, supply chain disruption, capacity constraints, and the resurgence of the virus will continue to impact trade and slow down the recovery and global freight forwarding growth in the short term, Ti notes.
According to the report’s Covid Recovery Tracker for 2021, the global freight forwarding market will be just 2.3 per cent larger than it was in 2019.
Moves to mitigate Christmas shortages
In the short term, firms like Asda are making their own novel arrangements for the festive season.
According to the BBC, the supermarket giant has chartered a cargo ship for the first time to ensure shelves are fully stocked this Christmas.
It follows the example of John Lewis in the UK and Costco and Walmart in the US in taking the measure.
Meanwhile, the Government has announced further measures to support the UK’s agri-food and drink sector, helping them to recover from the pandemic.
The Government will add eight new agri-food and drink attachés in priority markets, as part of a wider plan to boost exports, further unlock barriers to trade and open up new exporting opportunities around the world.
As well as posts in China, USA, India, Canada and Mexico, the agri-food attachés will be covering growth markets in the Gulf, Africa, South America and the Asia-Pacific region.
There will also be additional capacity and resource in Europe, as Government’s key market.
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