From Sea to Sky: Hybrid Shipping Solution in the Face of Changing Tides

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, container ships were smaller and slower. This meant it took a good 50 to 60 days for urgent shipments from Asia to Europe. Air cargo, on the other hand, was too expensive for high-value goods, making it hard to justify the cost.

To tackle this, logistics companies like Canaan came up with a solution. They combined sea and air cargo by consolidating shipments from Asia into a single container. The container would then go to Vancouver, BC, or Seattle, WA, and from there, it would be transferred to a cargo or passenger plane and flown to Europe. This approach saved time compared to pure air cargo and was a bit more expensive than pure ocean shipping.

But over the last 20 years, improvements in both cost and transit times for vessels made this hybrid sea-air transport less competitive. However, recent disruptions in the Red Sea have led to a 20% increase in demand for sea-air transport at Canaan. During the pandemic, Canaan had already been offering this product, and now, with ocean carriers changing routes around Africa, resulting in longer transit times from Asia to Europe, the demand for this hybrid solution is making a comeback.

In the face of these challenges, exporters and importers are hesitant to fully switch to air freight due to the costs involved. At this stage, Canaan is well-placed to provide customers with access to this hybrid capacity. If you want more information about this service, feel free to reach out to our customer services and sales team at Canaan. They’ll be happy to help with any questions you may have.