More good news for August

Yesterday we reported that according to IATA, worldwide cargo traffic was up 5.1% y-o-y in August. The good news continues today, with data published by Netherlands-based WorldACD showing worldwide cargo volume growth of 6.6% y-o-y in August.

Unlike IATA, which reports cargo traffic (in revenue-tonne kilomters flown by its member airlines), WorldACD gathers cargo volume data (in tonnes) directly from the airwaybills of over fifty carriers. So far this year, data gathered by WorldACD have consistently indicated stronger growth than what has been shown by IATA, but for July and August that gap has narrowed, and the two data sets lead to broadly similar conclusions: air freight demand is now growing at a very healthy rate.

In addition to volume data, WorldACD also reports on revenue and yield, and its August findings show gains for both. Revenue (in US$) was up almost 7.4% y-o-y, and yield rose 0.7%. The yield growth is down from the 2.9% reported in July, but at least is still trending positive.

Discussing the August data, WorldACD said specific product categories again performed better than general cargo (volume +7.8% and yield +1.4%), whilst the volume of express cargo grew by almost 10%.