July closed out with a -2% drop in global volume in week 31 (28 July to 3 August) compared to the previous week, continuing a pattern of marginal change from week to week that kept total chargeable weight relatively steady through the month. However, month-on-month growth in tonnages jumped +8%, returning volumes to a year-on-year (YoY) expansion of +6% in July, which is more in line with the YoY growth seen between March and May, after a slowdown to +1% in June. Global pricing barely moved in July, as the YoY volume growth was only slightly higher than the capacity expansion (+5%).

All regions showed YoY volume growth in July, led by Asia Pacific (+9%), followed by North America and Central & South America (both +5%), Middle East & South Asia (+4%) and Europe (+3%), while Africa remained stable. The momentum slowed towards the end of the month. A comparison of the last two weeks with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W) based on the more than 500,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data shows a stable volume in total, with all origin regions experiencing a decline between -1% and -3%, except Europe (+3%).

While week 31 showed no change in global rates on a 2Wo2W basis, and only minor fluctuations out of the main origin regions, global pricing continued to experience pressure in July, dropping -2% year on year, in line with the YoY trend in May and June. Trends differed considerably by origin region, showing a -11% drop from its exceptionally high level last year for Middle East & South Asia (MESA), while the rate decline from Asia Pacific worsened to -4%. Pricing from North America was flat, but rates out of Europe and Africa rose by +5% and +6% respectively.

Although chargeable weight moving from North America to Asia Pacific contracted -6% on a 2Wo2W basis, pricing in this trade lane rose +2%. Traffic from North America increased +1% both to Europe and to Central & South America (CSA), with rates climbing +1% and +3% respectively.

Carriers out of Europe, on the other hand, registered small rate declines across all major sectors except CSA during the same two-week period, down -2% to MESA and -1% to North America, Asia Pacific and Africa. This is despite volume growth of +6% to North America, +4% to MESA and +1% to Asia Pacific.