Global air freight has been overwhelmed by the rapid rise of fast-fashion e-commerce retailers, Reuters reports, citing industry sources. Chinese retail giants Shein and Temu dispatch a combined capacity of nearly 600k packages to the US daily, the newswire writes, citing a June 2023 US Congress report. The surge in demand spiked air freight rates from China’s Guangzhou and Hong Kong manufacturing hubs, disrupting seasonal patterns, and leading to shortfalls in capacity, industry sources told the newswire. “The biggest trend impacting air freight right now is not the Red Sea, it's Chinese e-commerce companies like Shein or Temu,” Bollore Logistics Director of Greater China operations Basile Ricard said.

No room left for others: The Chinese fast-fashion retailers have snapped up all available space on air freighters, leaving little room for other sectors which are looking for workarounds after confronting disruptions in the Red Sea, Reuters said. “When the Suez Canal (crisis) hit, there was no capacity to be bought, because e-commerce has bought it all,” an unnamed executive at an air cargo carrier told the newswire.

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