Air, Forwarding, Freight News, Sea

Rhenus increases China traffic

[ November 3, 2026   //   Chris Lewis ]

German-headquartered forwarder Rhenus says it has increased its ocean and air freight volumes between China and Europe in 2026 to date, in a market shaped by weaker air cargo demand, frequent shifts in capacity and changing EU–China trade policy.

In ocean freight, China–Europe, in both directions combined, is Rhenus’ largest trade lane by volume. In air freight, Europe is the main destination for the cargo Rhenus moves out of China. In both modes, sustaining growth means managing unequal cargo flows in each direction and frequent shifts in available capacity. Alongside these operational challenges, evolving EU–China trade policy can affect customers’ import costs and shipping decisions, adding uncertainty to longer-term planning.

Against this backdrop, Rhenus increased its China-to-Europe ocean freight volumes by around 26% year on year in 2026 to date.

In air freight, new customer wins kept Rhenus’ China-to-Europe volumes growing in a softer market, despite a fall in e-commerce volumes of 28% in July–August.

Eastbound, Rhenus increased its air freight volumes by around 20%, against a 5% year-on-year decline in Europe-to-China market demand in January–August.

Tags: Rhenus