Air cargo bookings during peak season aren’t new. You are not imagining it, December really is busy.
The good news is that you’re nearly done. We crunched millions of holiday season air cargo bookings over the past few years and found that while the worst of it is November and the Christmas leadup, the weirdest of it is between Christmas and New Years. Let’s take a look at the data and how forwarders can prep.
What actually happens
Compared to October, November typically has about 3% more bookings per day. Classic peak season grind.
Then it gets even peak-ier in the pre-Christmas buildup. In the three weeks before the 25th, bookings per day are about 6% higher than October, and bookings per active user per day are about 12% higher. So yes, if you’re feeling the crunch, it’s real.
Christmas to New Year looks calm on paper.
Shippers are on vacation too so total bookings per day drop to about half of October. But for the poor souls working, it’s a different story. For the ones still logged in, bookings per active user per day jumps to about 146% of October. Fewer shipments in total, more work per person who is actually at their desk instead of on a beach in Tahiti. Fun.
Over the years, this has gotten slightly better – with less of a capacity crunch than in the worst Covid years, more cargo gets booked in October, November, and earlier in December. So the emotional panic lives in late December, but a lot of the real work already happened. It’s still gonna be gruesome for those working the last week though.
Why this matters (and what to do)
The story is not “December is one flat wall of pain.” Right now is the true rush: more bookings per day and more per person. That is where tools, automation, and clear playbooks actually move the needle.
Christmas to New Year is “low volume, high leverage.” You do not need full headcount, you need to know exactly which users and accounts are active, give them direct access to support, and keep workflows simple so they can power through busier-than-normal days without the full team. And if someone is pulling duty that week while everyone else is in pajamas, maybe budget for at least one small present (and please, don’t make it a branded stress ball. We have enough of those).
Freight forwarder execs should stock up on extra Christmas gifts for a very specific subset of their employees. And I have the data to prove it.
Based on millions of WebCargo freight quotes and bookings, peak season hits hard in November and December (obviously). November typically sees about 3% more bookings per day than October. Then the first three weeks of December spike to about 6% more bookings per day than October,
Bookings per user per day also jump 12% since more people are already out on vacation).
Winter Break is when it gets more interesting.
Christmas to New Year looks calm on paper, with daily bookings dropping.
But not for the poor souls working on winter break.
Daily bookings per user jumps to about 146% of October. Fewer shipments in total, more work per person who is actually at their desk instead of on a beach in Tahiti. Fun.
Here’s the bottom line:
Right now is the true rush: more bookings per day and more per person. Look at tools, automation, and clear playbooks to survive.
Christmas to New Year is low volume but high leverage. You may not need full headcount but you do need to:
- Know exactly which users will be active
- Give them direct access to support
- Keep workflows simple so they can power through busier-than-normal days without the full team.
- Stock up on gifts for the folks pulling the extra weight. And for god’s sake, don’t make it a branded stress ball. We have enough of those.
