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ME carriers’ freight volumes down 7pc in June

GENEVA, August 7, 2019

Airlines in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East once again suffered the sharpest declines in year-on-year growth in total air freight volumes in June 2019, with Middle Eastern freight volumes decreasing 7.0 per cent in June compared to the year-ago period despite capacity increasing by 2.7 per cent.

According to figures released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata), seasonally-adjusted demand has been falling since late 2018, and the latest data show volumes to Europe (down 7.2 per cent) and Asia-Pacific (down 6.5 per cent) were particularly weak, said the Iata report.  

Africa was the only region to show any growth with an increase in demand of 3.8 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier. This makes Africa the strongest performer for the fourth consecutive month. Capacity grew 16.6 per cent during the month and route analysis shows that the Africa-Asia performance is strong— up 12 per cent year-on-year.

Demand growth results for global air freight markets, measured in freight tonne-kilometres (FTKs), decreased by 4.8 per cent in June 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. This marks the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in freight volumes.

Signs of a modest recovery in recent months appear to have been premature, with the June contraction broad-based across all regions with the exception of Africa. Capacity growth remains subdued and the cargo load factor continues to fall. Globally, trade growth is languishing, and business uncertainty is compounded by the latest tariff increases in the US-China trade dispute.

“Global trade continues to suffer as trade tensions — particularly between the US and China — deepen. As a result, air cargo markets continue to contract. Nobody wins a trade war. Borders that are open to trade spread sustained prosperity. That’s what our political leaders must focus on,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service




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