Asia-Pacific airlines and the Middle East are reaping the most benefit from improving global trade as international airfreight markets grew 2.3 percent in June year-over-year.
This global expansion (measured in freight tonne kilometers), however, is slower than the 4.9 percent growth reported for May, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Overall growth for the first six months of 2014 now stands at 4.1 percent compared to the same period in 2013. That is much stronger than the 1.4 percent increase reported for the full-year 2013 over 2012 levels.
The strengthened growth has been underpinned by improving global trade and stronger business activity over the past year, said IATA.
“At the half-way point of the year, it is clear that overall cargo demand is much stronger than in 2013. Carriers in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East have been the biggest beneficiaries of the improved market conditions. Europe is doing reasonably well, albeit still in recovery mode. The weak spot is the Americas,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO.
He added that while the general improvement in the economic environment is good news, it may not mean that air cargo is currently on the path of continued recovery.
“First there are a lot of risks out there—from conflicts and sanctions to potential national defaults and fear of the Ebola outbreak. Second, while air cargo is slowly emerging from two years in the doldrums time has not stood still. Logistics has become an even more intensely competitive sector,” said Tyler.
In regional terms, Asia-Pacific airlines’ freight volume grew 4.9 percent in June, continuing the trend of strengthening results following the declines in the first quarter of the year. For the year-to-date, Asia-Pacific cargo is up 4.6 percent, and with Chinese manufacturing expanding again for the first time since December 2013, growth looks set to continue.
Middle East carriers continue to expand strongly. Air cargo growth was 7 percent in June and is up 10 percent for the year-to-date. Airlines in the region are capitalizing on growth opportunities by expanding services to fast-growing emerging markets.
African carriers grew 4.8 percent in June, much stronger than the year-to-date average of 3.1 percent. Growth has been affected by a slowdown in some African economies, notably South Africa. Improving trade data, however, points to a more optimistic outlook for the rest of the year.
On the other hand, European carriers saw freight volumes fall 1.5 percent compared to June 2013, possibly reflecting recent weakness in manufacturing and export activity. Overall, for the year-to-date, European cargo is up 3.2 percent, a stronger performance than in 2013.
North American airlines’ freight volumes declined 0.1 percent compared to June 2013, and for the year-to-date are up just 1.6 percent. The overall performance may reflect the weakness in trade volumes that followed the severe weather events in the first quarter. Recent data points to much stronger business activity which could support stronger air cargo volumes in the months ahead.
Latin American airlines suffered a sharp contraction of 3.4 percent in June. The overall performance for the year-to-date has also been a disappointing -0.1 percent, the only region to be in decline this year. Sluggish trade growth and in particular the weakness of the Brazilian economy is dragging down growth.
Photo: jbself20
