Shanghai-U.S. air cargo rates jump 40% in rush to beat new Trump tariffs

Customs brokers swamped with work as exporters seek cheapest path

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Many exporters to the U.S. are electing to switch to airfreight from marine cargo ahead of Trump's tariffs. (Source photos by Konosuke Urata and Ocean Network Express)

AZUSA KAWAKAMI

NEW YORK -- The cost of shipping goods to the U.S. by air has climbed roughly 40% in a month as importers scramble to get ahead of new tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration.

Michael Muntean, chief operating officer at V. Alexander & Co., a customs broker based in the American state of Tennessee, says customers have increasingly been asking the same thing: Can we to switch to air transport?

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