Time to read: 3 min
As global economies begin to open slowly, and freight carriers resume service, transit times are improving. While we have observed that the transit time for shipments from China to the U.S. is only slightly improved from 7 to 6 days on average when shipping cargo with FedEx, we continue to see improvements in global logistics since our last update.
Latest Update Details
Here are more details on services that have now resumed, after being cancelled.
Air freight capacity has started to move in the right direction and become more stable. Although the state of global logistics is still far from being 100% recovered, major freight carriers like FedEx and UPS are expecting to have significant reductions to their current transit times by the end of July.
Because there continues to be limited number of passenger airlines going to the Asia Pacific region, some of the major airlines have converted a few of their passenger flights to cargo planes to help alleviate the capacity backlog created during the past few months.
As the PPE supply in the U.S. has significantly increased, the need to expedite PPE shipments in passenger cargo aircrafts is diminishing. More ocean carriers are coming back online, and shippers are largely opting to ship via this lower-cost, yet longer lead time shipping method.
While elevated rates continue for air freight, they are beginning to descend to more normal levels. The cost to ship items from China to the U.S. used to average $4-$5 per kg, then rose to $15-$20 per kg during the early stages of the pandemic, when capacity was tight. Now, we are seeing prices fluctuate between $8-$15 per kg.
FedEx has temporarily suspended certain services, as a result of logistics disruptions caused by COVID-19 back in the middle of March, but they are starting to restore some of these services, including International Priority Freight (IPF) services. As of last week, FedEx has also removed daily weight limits for cargo originating in South China with a destination the U.S., which is opening up the opportunity for companies to export more cargo to the US. For more details, visit the “See Service Impact Information” link on FedEx’s coronavirus page.
UPS and FedEx services in the U.S. continue, with minor disruptions.
Guidance for Fictiv Customers
Fictiv customers should plan for the door-to-door transit time for overseas orders to be 6 days. You can help us reduce the possibility of additional transit days due to Customs holds, by providing a detailed description of your goods, the end use for your parts, HTS codes, and company name, where applicable (to ensure we have the proper Importer of Record on file). Here’s Fictiv’s guide to international shipping requirements, for more details.
Let us know if you’d like to be connected with a customs broker from Fictiv’s network to support your company. You can reach out to a Fictiv customer support representative at help@fictiv.com.
Main Takeaways
We anticipate continued improvements in transit times, as additional services are reinstated and added by the end of July. We’ll keep you updated on international logistics as the worldwide economy continues to open back up and passenger airlines resume operations.
