European forwarders polled in the latest survey by Danske Bank were generally positive about the growth of airfreight through March and April. According to the bank’s latest Freight Forwarding Index, respondents gave the airfreight mode an index of 67, indicating a significant rise in expectations since the 63 that was reported in February.
The picture was less rosy on the ocean side. Forwarders in Europe said they expect seafreight bookings to stall over the next two months, with volume during April to have an index of 50 points, down from the March outlook of 52 points.
The expected volumes index numbers for road freight was 64, which indicates a strong March and April in volume for trucking firms. The road index for February was 48 the report said. The overall index of air, sea and road modes in February combined came in at 49 compared to 44 in January.
Dankse Bank, the largest in Denmark, polls 100 European forwarders each month, asking about their booking volumes and expectations for the coming months. Values above 50 indicate growth.
This year, respondents were more cautious in predicting their expectations than they were in early 2014. Last year, the predictions were 66 points and 70 points for March and April, respectively.
One of the largest logistics companies, Kuehne + Nagel, predicted market growth for all containerized modes of 4 to 5 percent for 2015.
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