WebCargo Launches Volatility Index to Predict Airfreight Rate Trends

Online booking platform WebCargo is launching a new tool predicting whether airfreight rates will rise or fall to help airlines and forwarders plan for the future.

The Volatility Index will launch this week and predicts trade lane rate trends by mining the airfreight data generated by WebCargo. It will help industry players protect margins, the Freightos-owned company explained.

“In an era of freight volatility, our aim is to help airlines and forwarders stay ahead of the curve by predicting whether rates on a given lane are expected to rise or fall,” WebCargo said.

“This helps airlines protect their margins and remain competitive when prices drop, and helps forwarders and customers lock in the best rates when prices are on the rise.”

The tool will also offer real-time rate trends, providing insights on rate volatility and fluctuations.

When forwarders search for a service, the tool will offer insights into an airline’s recent rate activity with prompts such as “this airline’s rates increased recently in a constant way” or “this airline’s rates decreased recently, fluctuating a lot”.

The data used to generate the insights is based on the firm’s air cargo booking platform, which continues to grow. Last year, more than 1m bookings in 12 months were completed on WebCargo for the first time, although the company admits this is a small percentage of the total industry.

In 2021, Freightos launched an air cargo pricing index based on data from its Webcargo booking portal.

The Freightos Air Index (FAX) would provide spot market pricing visibility and consists of a headline index of pricing across global air cargo lanes, weighted based on trade lane activity, as well as price comparisons across trade lanes, airport pairs, and weight breaks.