iPhone 5 demand results in air freight cost increase
The launch of the latest Apple iPhone is expected to dramatically skew air freight rates for the current quarter, following a spike in the cost per kilogram of air cargo.
Transport experts along with the Federal Reserve have commented on the effect of electronics companies affect on the industry, which has become such big business for the air freight sector that airlines have canceled scheduled routes and forgone staff training just to free up resources for Apple’s launch.
The effect has been so strong with Apple’s latest launch that the Federal Reserve mentioned the electronics phenomenon in their quarterly report on the US economy, commenting: “Air cargo companies saw an increase in cargo volume tied to the launch of various smartphones and computer tablets, which favor shipment by air over other modalities.”
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Smartphones and tablet devices now make up a huge part of the air freight market, and with Apple acting as a primary client for freight firms. The company’s influence is now so vast that new product launchers are able to skew market rates for the air freight sector, which is currently experiencing a deep contraction.
Air freight rates rose by 20 percent in the March launch of the Apple iPad, however none of the big delivery companies would divulge the impact of the iPhone, which sold 5 million iPhone 5s in the first here days of the product launch.
