AAPA reports rare drop in Asian airfreight FTKs

While international passenger demand continued to grow, the Asian air cargo market in June softened, per the latest traffic results from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Total freight tonne kilometers (FTK), as reported by the association’s 16 member carriers, dipped 0.5 percent, compared to June 2014 figures. With freight capacity increasing 2.5 percent for the month, the average international freight load factor fell 1.9 percent to 64.1 percent.

AAPA said this is the first time since 2014 that it has seen a y-o-y decline in monthly FTKs since February 2014.

 “Air cargo demand grew by 4.8 percent during the first half of 2015, but the pace of growth has moderated during recent months after the earlier boost in demand, due to the U.S. West Coast ports strikes wore off,” said Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General.

Herdman said the apparent slowdown in trade makes the outlook for air cargo markets “more uncertain.” In general, he added, Asian carriers will continue to make “careful adjustments to route networks in response to changing patterns of demand.”