While the stress on the global cargo industry continued into 2022, it has also propelled unprecedented digitalization. In particular, pricing volatility and digital carrier maturity encouraged strong adoption of digital bookings. The value of shipments booked on Freightos’ booking platform exceeded an annual run rate of nearly half a billion dollars.

Digital Air Cargo (DAC) bookings increased significantly in the first quarter of 2022. Direct flown airline eBookings on WebCargo by Freightos, the world’s largest air cargo booking platform, grew 351% since Q1 ‘21 and has jumped to almost 60 times the volume seen in Q1 ’20. Faster booking and more efficient communication helped logistics providers save an estimated 4 person-years of labor throughout the quarter.

The growth on the air cargo front was supported by the following key factors:

• Forwarder adoption: In order for digital booking to live alongside more traditional pricing and booking methods, the hybrid ability to manage static rates alongside eBookings was key. To accomplish this, 19 of the top 20 global freight forwarders use WebCargo technology. In total, over 3,500 unique forwarders around the world rely on WebCargo rate management, pricing, and booking tools.
• Capacity growth: WebCargo’s technology and user base positions it as a natural airline partner. As a result, capacity available on WebCargo grew strongly. At the end of Q1 2021, airlines representing 15% of global air cargo capacity were available for digital booking on WebCargo. By the end of Q1 2022, this had more than doubled to 32%, nearly triple the nearest competitor.
• Technology: WebCargo’s pioneering features continue to attract users and bookings. For example, the design-patented Matrix View provides visibility into key selection parameters, while dynamic quoting enables forwarders to quote customers with rates that are always up to date.

“This quarter was further proof that cargo procurement is going digital,” said Zvi Schreiber, CEO and founder of Freightos. “When we first started to offer air cargo eBookings on WebCargo in 2018, it was a curiosity. Today, it’s increasingly the norm. In some countries, well over 15% of all airline cargo bookings are conducted digitally via WebCargo — and like the rest of the platform, we’re still just getting started.”

International trade is the core of the world economy. However, the $500 billion global freight market powering trade remains one of the last offline industries, increasing costs and reducing reliability for the world’s supply chains.

Freightos® is the global freight booking platform, connecting carriers, freight forwarders, and importers/exporters. Freightos makes international shipping faster, more cost-effective and reliable, expanding trade between the people of the world. The Freightos Group includes the following business units:

WebCargo by Freightos is the digital pricing, booking and sales platform for logistics providers. WebCargo is the dominant Digital Air Cargo (DAC) platform, partnering with leading airlines to serve 2,000+ freight forwarders across over 10,000 offices. These forwarders represent more than 30% of the world market. WebCargo also provides real-time ocean bookings, as well as software as a service tools for forwarders to digitalize freight sales.

7LFreight by Freightos is a digital multimodal freight rate management platform with direct booking capabilities through WebCargo. It is a central component of the Freightos ecosystem that collectively powers freight pricing and booking across over 2,750 global freight forwarders.

Freightos.com is the largest digital freight marketplace, connecting logistics providers and importers/exporters for instant pricing, booking, and shipment management. Over twelve thousand SMEs and enterprise organizations have sourced shipping services via Freightos. Together with partners such as Alibaba.com, Freightos.com enables smoother global shipping.

Freightos Data publishes the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), the industry’s key daily benchmark of container shipping prices, as well as other data products which improve supply chain decision making, planning, and pricing transparency.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Zvi Schreiber in 2012, the Freightos Group is a widely recognized LogTech (logistics technology) leader with a worldwide presence and a broad customer network. Freightos has raised $120 million from leading venture funds and strategic investors.

Dafna Farkas, Corporate Marketing Associate

[email protected]