Widebody freighter capacity on the transpacific trade lane is rebounding, though it still trails volumes seen this time last year.
According to data from aviation consultancy Rotate, widebody freighter capacity between Asia Pacific and North America rose 18% over the past 24 hours compared to the same period last week—an increase equivalent to 10 additional freighter flights.
This marks a recovery from last week’s sharp pullback, when airlines rapidly removed capacity in response to declining demand. The drop was triggered by the end of the US de minimis exemption for e-commerce parcels from China, which came on the heels of a sweeping 145% tariff on Chinese imports introduced in April.
At its lowest point early last week, transpacific widebody freighter traffic had plunged by 40 flights per day versus April’s average—representing a loss of 4,000 tonnes of cargo per day, or 40% of the lane’s normal capacity.
Talks between the US and China over the weekend led to a partial rollback of tariffs. The tariff for de minimis e-commerce parcels sent through postal channels was cut from 120% to 54% (or a flat $100), while non-postal de minimis shipments now face a reduced rate of 30%. Additionally, the broader tariff on imports was lowered from 145% to 30% by the US, with China reducing its own rate to 10%.
Since the announcement, transpacific freighter capacity has started to recover, though it remains behind 2024 levels. As of Thursday, May 15, widebody freighter capacity was still 10% below the same day last year—equivalent to a shortfall of 10 freighter flights.
When including widebody passenger aircraft with belly cargo capacity, the year-on-year gap narrows slightly to 7%.
Source: aircargonews.net