Dimerco Report: Asia-Pacific Shippers Prepare for More Demand, Rates and Disruption in H2 2026

Survey of APAC-connected shippers shows 71% expect freight demand to increase, while 92% report higher rates and 84% face shipment delays at least monthly.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, July 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dimerco Express Group has released its Asia-Pacific Freight Outlook for H2 2026, a new shipper survey report examining how companies moving goods across Asia-Pacific are planning for demand growth, rate pressure and disruption across air and ocean freight.

The report, based on 57 validated APAC-connected cargo owners drawn from 183 raw survey responses, finds that shippers are entering the second half of 2026 with a cautious growth mindset. Seventy-one percent expect freight demand to increase over the next six months, but most are not expecting easier conditions. Ninety-two percent say freight rates increased over the past year, 84% experience shipment delays at least monthly and 84% have changed shipment strategy frequently or occasionally because of disruption.

"H2 2026 is likely to reward shippers that build optionality before they need it," the report notes. "Our role is to help you turn forecasts, route alternatives and multimodal choices into a practical freight plan, supported by clear service commitments, local execution and transparent decision-making."

Shippers expect growth, but not stability
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The survey points to an Asia-Pacific freight market where demand and risk are moving together. Geopolitical disruption ranked as the leading factor shaping shippers' outlook, selected by 33% of respondents, narrowly ahead of demand growth at 31%. Economic conditions followed at 20%.

The effect is concentrated on major trade lanes. Asia-North America was the most frequently cited lane for both air and ocean users, selected by 57% of active air users and 61% of active ocean users. Asia-Europe ranked second. Dimerco says companies using these corridors should watch policy changes, carrier allocation and gateway congestion through the second half of the year.

Disruption is now part of the planning baseline
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Delays are no longer occasional exceptions. Eighty-four percent of respondents report shipment delays at least monthly, and one quarter experience delays weekly or more often. Among shippers that adjusted strategy frequently or occasionally, 74% cited geopolitical disruption as a trigger, followed by port congestion at 49% and customs or regulatory delays at 40%.

That changes the planning conversation. Rate negotiation matters, but the report suggests shippers also need route options, compliance readiness, allocation planning and clear decision thresholds before disruption hits.

Ocean reliability remains the bigger pressure point
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Ocean freight carries the heavier operational burden in the survey. Sixty-nine percent of ocean users cite rate volatility as a current challenge, while 55% point to vessel schedule reliability, 51% to geopolitical disruption and 47% to port congestion. Half of valid ocean respondents say reliable capacity has declined over the past six months.

Air freight is also under pressure, but the results are more mixed. Rate volatility is the leading air challenge at 56%, followed by schedule reliability at 47%, geopolitical disruption at 40%, capacity constraints at 33% and customs delays at 31%. Forty-three percent say reliable capacity improved over the past six months, while 41% say it declined.

The report also shows how tightly the two modes are linked. Eighty-four percent of air users say ocean volatility has had a moderate or severe effect on air capacity or rates, confirming that emergency air capacity can become more expensive and harder to secure when ocean networks are unstable.

Provider selection is about price and execution
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Cost remains a major factor, but shippers are not treating price as the only measure of value. Cost was selected as a top-two carrier selection factor by 65% of respondents. When schedule reliability and transit-time predictability are combined, they were selected by 69%.

Provider churn is significant. Forty-two percent of respondents changed their primary logistics provider in the past 12 months. Among those switchers, 70% cited pricing and 60% cited service reliability. No respondent identified pricing alone as the sole differentiator of a preferred logistics provider; pricing was always paired with at least one execution, visibility or expertise factor.

Dimerco recommends a rules-based freight playbook
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For H2 2026, Dimerco recommends that shippers move away from shipment-by-shipment reaction and define a rules-based freight plan. That means sharing rolling 8-to-12-week lane and SKU forecasts, measuring total landed cost alongside schedule variance, setting mode-switch thresholds, pre-qualifying alternate gateways and providers, building customs readiness into route design and using forwarder scorecards that track response time, visibility, exception recovery and capacity fulfillment alongside price.

*** The full Asia-Pacific Freight Outlook report can be accessed via this page. ***

About Dimerco Express Group
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Dimerco Express Group integrates air and ocean freight, trade compliance, and contract logistics services to make global supply chains more effective and efficient. Founded in Taiwan in 1971, Dimerco connects Asia’s manufacturing hubs with North America and Europe through a robust network of 150+ offices and 200+ strategic partner agents.

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Gitte Willemsens
Pesti Group
media@dimerco.com
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