Despite its history of political unrest and military juntas, the nation of Thailand is emerging as a major Southeast Asian logistics hub that could be worth nearly $100bn in revenue over the next few years, according to a December 2015 study released by worldwide consultants Frost & Sullivan.

As we draw toward a close of a volatile 2015 that saw airfreight demand skyrocket in the early months only to cool down and stagnate for much of the rest of the year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is predicting continued sluggishness for most of 2016, thanks to continued weak growth in world trade, a slowdown in China, falling commodity prices, and an expected interest rate hike in the United States.

Even before the events in Paris on Friday Nov. 13, unrest in several geographic areas of the world has contributed to major disruption in the supply chain.

IATA's global head of cargo, Glyn Hughes, said the logistics business is not keeping up with technology - a sentiment that's been expressed before, but one he said cannot be emphasized enough. Hughes also called for more communication across the airfreight supply chain.

What seemed like a sure deal may not be a slam-dunk after all. Regulators in the European Union have said they may consider demanding concessions, including the selling off of some assets, with regard to the proposed takeover of TNT Express by FedEx Corp.

As we head deeper into autumn and ever closer toward peak season, the airfreight traffic numbers for August provided some pockets of good news, but offered little encouragement that the current air cargo stagnation has abated. According to reports from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), WorldACD and Drewry, August 2015 provided only the slimmest of indications of hope for better performance at the end of the year.