Volumes are expected to be robust among Europe’s freight forwarders through next month, according to Danske Bank’s latest European Freight Forwarding Index report for September 2014.
Airfreight was the strongest segment mentioned in the report, reaching an index level of 57 for the month of September, a significant jump from the index of 38 reported in August. Survey respondents showed confidence that the index will remain strong for the next couple of months. They predicted an airfreight-forwarding index of 65 in October and 54 in November.
European forwarders from the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Benelux and Eastern Europe were asked, “What volume of goods does your company handle today compared with two months ago?” They were allowed to respond with three choices: Lower volume, unchanged volumes or lower volumes. These responses, adjusted for typical seasonal variation, were translated into an index value between 0 and 100; those above 50 indicate expansion among participating companies, while values below 50 indicate contraction.
The overall “index of current volumes,” which includes air-, land- and seafreight, was 54 for September, compared with August’s value of 45. All segments also predicted a strong peak season, with values of 55 for October and 60 for November.
The seafreight index was 48 for September, up 5 points from 43 in August, indicating that the decrease in volume has abated somewhat. However, the survey reported seafreight indices of 57 for October and 62 for November. Meanwhile, the road index of 53 in September is expected to dip to 51 for October before rising again to 61 for November.
(For more information on freight forwarders and their relationship with shippers and airlines, please join us at our upcoming Session 6, Forwarders Panel: What Do Shippers Want, and What Will They Pay For?, to be held at the Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium, Oct. 22-24, in Miami. For more information or to register, please visit cargofactssymposium.com.)