Drewry's East West Airfreight Price Index registered an increase of 4 percent, to 87.6 points ($2.84/kg) in March 2017, pulling out of a continuous 19.2 point drop between December 2016 and February 2017. In the same period last year, airfreight rates were relatively flat.

Airport tonnage figures surged, month-to-month, indicating that declining airfreight rates were not an indicator of slowing trade.

With carriers adding aircraft on the back of strong passenger numbers, however, capacity continued to rise. Drewry noted that the pace was slower in 2017, and that utilization was up, along with the rise in load factors.

Drewry's latest numbers add to a picture of robust global trade that prompted Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group, to tell The Economic Times that, as far as logistics went, “we never have lived in a better place than now.”

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