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What crisis logistics taught me about the value of airfreight forwarders

Freight forwarders play a vital role in air cargo and logistics operations, especially during increasingly frequent supply chains disruptions, and the Airforwarders Association (AfA) will continue to evolve with three priorities. I have spent more than 25 years working across aviation, logistics and humanitarian response. At Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, I led airline campaigns including a $4bn plus engine and services agreement, the largest in the company's history. I then spent 13 years building Airlink, where aviation and logistics served a different purpose: getting aid to people affected by disasters, conflict and public health emergencies. At Airlink, more than 50 airlines and logistics companies worked alongside 250 humanitarian organisations to respond to more than 200 disasters and crises in 100 countries, including the Ebola outbreak, Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the 2023 Turkey earthquake. Each time, essential supplies had to move quickly when established routes were disrupted. That is where air cargo proves its value. When conditions change, this industry finds capacity, develops alternative routings, solves regulatory problems and reconnects places that might otherwise be cut off. In a humanitarian response, that capability saves lives. In commercial supply chains, it keeps production lines running, medicines moving and businesses connected to their customers. In 2025, I served as a subject matter expert to NATO on public-private cooperation in crisis response and resilience planning. The clearest shift I saw is that logistics is now treated as critical infrastructure. Resilient civil transport is one of NATO's baseline requirements for national resilience, and at The Hague last year allies committed up to 1.5% of GDP to protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening civil preparedness. Much of the capacity those plans depend on is commercial, and much of it is arranged by forwarders. Commercial air cargo now faces sustained pressure of its own. Conflicts disrupt trade lanes, costs remain under pressure, trade policy is hard to predict, and congestion and cargo theft compound the strain. Forwarders sit at the centre of that. They find alternatives when routes change, manage new requirements, secure capacity, and keep goods moving. They are often the first to see when a policy or infrastructure decision has unintended consequences for trade. That operational experience needs to be heard, and it is why I was drawn to lead the Airforwarders Association (AfA). The AfA already has a strong foundation. Over 21 years, Brandon Fried built the Association into the voice of more than 225 member companies, from family-owned forwarders to global logistics providers. I am grateful for his work and his support during the transition. Three priorities Three priorities will shape my early focus. The first is predictability. Forwarders adapt for a living, but businesses still need enough certainty to plan capacity, invest, and price services. A change to a tariff, customs rule or security requirement affects costs, capacity, and transit times across an entire supply chain. Our role is to bring members' experience into those decisions before they take effect, and to press for requirements that protect cargo while remaining workable for the businesses moving it. The second is the whole cargo journey. Airfreight's speed advantage means little cargo is stuck in congestion outside an airport, delayed by inadequate facilities or stolen from a truck. However, last year the US Government Accountability Office confirmed what our members see every day: ageing cargo facilities, poor truck access and limited federal data on air cargo. The next step is turning those findings into better facilities and truck access, with forwarders helping decide where investment goes. Cargo theft legislation passed the House 348-60 in May, and the AfA is pressing the Senate to finish the job. The third is looking beyond Washington. Air cargo is inherently international, and decisions made by foreign governments and global industry bodies on customs, security and commercial terms can affect our members as quickly as decisions made at home. US forwarders need a voice wherever those rules are written. Underpinning all of this is value for every member, whatever their size. A five-person forwarder and a multinational logistics provider should both see a clear return: useful guidance on changing requirements, access to industry partners, and a say in shaping our advocacy. We will start by listening to what they need. Every chapter of my career has reinforced the same point: supply chains work best when relationships are strong, infrastructure is fit for purpose, and people with operational experience have a voice in the decisions that affect them. That is what freight forwarders bring to global trade every day. My job is to make sure they are heard, in Washington and beyond. In September, the Airforwarders Association (AfA) named Steve Smith as its new chief executive to take over from Brandon Fried. Fried, who has led the AfA for 21 years and announced his retirement in February, is now assisting Smith during a transition period, allowing him to assume responsibility for the new role gradually as the AfA continues its advocacy work.

No post-peak easing at US container gateways, despite drayage woes

Elevated import volumes have strained drayage capacity at US container gateways. Much of the recent spotlight has been on the port of Houston, which is handling record volumes of cargo, and traffic is expected to keep growing, fuelled by multiple drivers. Since mid-August US trucking and logistics firms have blamed tight drayage capacity as the biggest brake on growth and warned of bottlenecks at ports and inland rail ramps. The biggest factor has been the tightening trucking sector, exacerbated by a seasonal shift of drivers from drayage to the longhaul sector, in response to peak volumes. This year's peak season has lasted longer than usual, owing to uncertainty over tariffs and front-loading to beat higher fuel surcharges. According to Descartes, US imports of containerised cargo were up 10.3% year on year (YoY) in September. By late August the National Drayage Spot Market Index was up 8.2% YoY. By the beginning of this month this had climbed to 9.8%, and the national drayage demand index was 18% higher than the past six months and 9% above the previous four weeks. Various sources have reported higher-than-average increases in drayage rates from Houston. According to data provider Drayrates, they were up 34% on a year earlier, whereas the national average was +18%. Paul Brashier, VP of global supply chain at ITS Logistics, an Echo company, reported that dray rates in Houston had shot up 40% over the past four months - albeit from a low base. He was not surprised; he had already warned about the build-up of traffic through the port late last year and flagged the gateway as a pain point a month ago. He pointed to a convergence of factors that have boosted traffic through Houston: record container volume for the first half of this year, with its teu count up 3% YoY; through August loaded imports were up about 5% YoY, with traffic from Asia up nearly 12%; and imports have surged because of rapid expansion of manufacturing in Texas and the tidal wave of equipment and materials for the build-out of AI-related infrastructure in the state. At the same time exports of resins have jumped, as the hostilities in the Middle East have disrupted exports from that region. Other dynamics have added to the momentum on the import side. Over the past 45 days, some cargo owners have apparently booked transatlantic routings via the US Gulf coast to avoid congestion at the Panama Canal, Mr Brashier noted. He added that concerns over large volumes of imports stretching dwell times at the California container gateways had prompted cargo owners to move some imports through Houston instead. Moreover, the volume of containers entering the port en route to Mexico had grown, he added. The port of Houston has also been the most prominent maritime gateway for outsize and project cargo for the US, which has added to the rise in volumes leaving the port on the land side, mostly for the build-up of manufacturing in Texas and work to beef up the US power grid infrastructure. Some of the logistics providers that specialise in this sector feel encroachment from the container business. "Now there are containers everywhere at the port," said one project forwarder executive. The National Retail Federation recently signalled that the extended peak season should be winding down this month, as most of the holiday merchandise had arrived. Containerised imports at the major US box ports are forecast to add up to 25.8m teu for the full year, an increase of 1.4% from 2025. The anticipated waning of retail imports will alleviate some of the pressure at Houston, but the other drivers of volume are showing no signs of slowing. Mr Brashier is bracing himself for further volume growth going forward. "Houston is adding another [container] terminal. That speaks volumes to what they see on the horizon," he said. ITS has expanded its footprint at the port over the past three years, and will continue to do so, trying to keep up with demand, he added. Despite the increase in throughput and the diminished driver pool, the situation has not stymied flows from the port to the interior, Mr Brashier said. "We're not seeing a significant amount of dwell," he reported. "The port and the ecosystem, and the chassis, seem to be pretty resilient. It's just not having enough trucking capacity." He advised cargo owners to strengthen and expand their relationships with drayage providers, and to make early arrangements for capacity and chassis equipment, especially when it comes to special cargo, like hazmat or reefers. "If you haven't upped capacity, do that now because the market continues to grow," he warned.

Boeing remains busy with 777 freighter orders and deliveries

Data published by Boeing demonstrates that 777 freighter activity is still healthy following the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision to grant an emissions exemption for the cargo model. The aircraft manufacturer's order and delivery data for 2026 shows that six 777Fs have been ordered this year. Most recently, Ethiopian Airlines Group ordered two 777Fs in September, as part of a wider order for eight new generation Boeing 777-8Fs. The order followed earlier speculation that the carrier was considering purchasing up to 10 freighters from the US aircraft manufacturer. In June, China Airlines and China Southern Cargo also ordered two 777Fs each. On the deliveries front, Boeing's data shows that 20 of the model have been delivered so far this year, with FedEx and Air China Cargo both taking delivery of one aircraft last month. There are also a total of 38 unfilled orders to date. Boeing recorded a total of 15 777 freighter orders and 35 777 freighter deliveries last year. The longevity of Boeing's 777F was boosted in September when the FAA granted Boeing an emissions exemption for the aircraft model that will enable it to continue selling them beyond the end of 2027. The decision by the FAA means that Boeing, which filed its emissions exemption request in December and had requested that the exemption be approved by 1 May, can sell 35 more 777Fs that will be eligible for a Certificate of Airworthiness. "This exemption goes into effect on January 1, 2028, and applies to issuance of the first certificates of airworthiness for up to thirty-five 777F airplanes through January 1, 2031, unless sooner superseded or rescinded," said the FAA decision document published on 16 September. Without an exemption, these aircraft would not be eligible for a Certificate of Airworthiness from 1 January 2028 because they do not comply with fuel efficiency limits to curb emissions. The approval gives the widebody freighter market a huge boost as the sector was facing a supply shortage. As well as meeting continued 777F demand, the exemption will also enable Boeing to bridge the gap until its new generation 777-8 freighter comes to market.