As Asian forwarding and logistics markets continue to show strong growth, a new Forwarding Index has been launched by two consultants to measure current demand and forward sentiment.
The APAC Forwarding Index is being developed by freight journalist and consultant Mike King, and Cathy Roberson, an industry veteran who has been consulting on logistics markets for two decades.
“Using the input gathered from respondents including shippers, forwarders, 3PL executives, agents, shipping lines and, of course, forwarders, we will build the APAC Forwarding Confidence Index,” said Roberson. “This will serve as a vital and much-needed industry guide to Asia’s forwarding markets, and an economic bellwether for global trade analysis.”
The full Index will be published in the coming months with methodology and analysis provided by King and Roberson, the founders of, respectively, Mike King & Associates and Logistics Trends & Insights LLC.
The survey is open to anyone with insight or business linked to key trade lanes to and from Asia used by forwarders and other third parties.
“The survey takes less than five minutes and will become the essential building block for our new APAC Forwarding Confidence Index which will help build a clear picture of APAC forwarding and freight markets by trade lane and mode, both now and looking forward,” said King.
According to Roberson, the Asia-Pacific forwarding market continued to be a region of growth. “While volumes are high, competition is viewed not only as highly fragmented but fierce," she said. "As a result, profitability remains elusive for some players. In addition, the market is changing as the region evolves from an export dependent economy to a balanced one.
“No longer are forwarders focused only on air and ocean freight but also on intra-Asia services including rail and trucking as supply chains between countries become more entwined.”
Roberson said that international air and ocean market slumps in recent years due to overcapacity had been reversed towards the latter part of 2016.
“For ocean freight, the dust refused to settle as rates fell to historic lows in 2016 but now are creeping upwards as unprecedented consolidation, new alliances and the bankruptcy of Hanjin serve as a wake-up call for a market long in need of right-sizing capacity and evening out severe rate fluctuations,” she added.
“How the Asia-Pacific freight market performs affects the entire world. For forwarders, Asia-Pacific is seen as a growth opportunity while others view the region as an emerging global economic powerhouse.”