When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of most brick-and-mortar retail locations in countries around the world, retailers and many other businesses entered the e-commerce space or grew their e-commerce investments to adapt to changes in consumer behavior. The growth in this sector of retail has been a major driver of airfreight strength over the past year, and is leading to investments that will expand logistics footprints for decades to come.

Despite the recent increase in cases in India and some other countries, vaccinations are well underway in several countries and some lockdowns are easing, leading to the reopening of many retail businesses. The higher airfreight rates driven by the current capacity shortage will also eventually return to more normal levels when passenger aviation increases, meaning express carriers may no longer realize the record profits that peak surcharges have helped them achieve during the past year. Airfreight’s place in e-commerce fulfillment beyond the pandemic remains to be seen.

In this episode of “On Logistics with Air Cargo World,” Cathy Morrow Roberson talks to Charles Brewer, chief operating officer for Canada Post, about the e-commerce growth of the past year, the longer-term outlook for e-commerce logistics and whether the pursuit of e-commerce cargo will be a viable strategy for realizing profits beyond the pandemic.