Freight forwarders expect volumes to continue to decline during the summer, according to the Danske Bank’s summer 2009 freight forwarding index. In addition, a shipping consultancy has predicted that container shipping lines will suffer collective losses of about 20 bn dollars this year. The difficult economic conditions make predictions even more difficult than usual, with conflicting news coming from various analysts and consultants. However, the overall picture seems to be that air freight is losing out to cheaper, if slower, methods.