Air Freight Demand Continues Strong Growth

Global air freight demand continues to grow, with November returning an 8.8 percent increase, but IATA warned that the market has passed its cyclical growth peak.

November’s freight demand growth measured against the same month the previous year, was an increase on October’s 5.8 percent boost, IATA’s monthly update showed.

Africa again lead the way in regional growth terms with a 17.5 percent increase, but from a low base. The continent makes up only 1.6 percent of the global cargo market.

Of the more developed markets Europe came out top with a 9.9 percent increase in freight tonne km demand, followed by North America on 9.6 percent and Latin America on 9.4 percent. The region with the largest market share, Asia Pacific, saw an 8.1 percent demand increase.

IATA said the uptick in freight growth coincides with a traditional period of strong demand in the fourth quarter. The global airline body said the air cargo industry is on track for 2017 to achieve the “strongest operational and financial performance since the post-global financial crisis rebound in 2010.”

Cargo capacity in available freight tonne km terms showed modest growth in most regions, but African carriers boosted capacity by 24 percent and Latin America added 11.1 percent. All other regions increased cargo capacity by low single digit amounts.

All regions increased their fright load factors, with the exception of Africa and Latin America which saw 1.4 percent and 0.6 percent drops respectively.