Volume flat in July

Two weeks ago, when we published July air freight data from some of the world’s big carriers and airports, we said we expected that when worldwide data was available, July air freight demand would be roughly flat with July 2014.

Today, the first of those worldwide reports, this one from Netherlands-based WorldACD, was published, and, as we predicted, air freight demand in July 2015 (measured by chargeable weight carried) was indeed almost flat with last year – up just 0.7%. IATA will publish its summary of worldwide air freight traffic in the next few days, and we expect it to be roughly similar to WorldACD.

Yield, on the other hand, was anything but flat, dropping 17.6% y-o-y. We point out, however, that WorldACD’s yield data is based on revenue including surcharges, and that with the price of fuel falling dramatically over the last twelve months, surcharges have also dropped. The yield data, therefore, must be viewed with considerable caution.

Regarding volume, WorldACD said that loads ex-Africa were up 6.2%, “thanks to increased business to the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) and within Africa.” Loads ex-Europe also rose, though just by 2.7%, “mainly fueled by growth to destinations in Asia Pacific other than China.” WorldACD did not provide percentage changes in volume for other origins and destinations, but, given the overall 0.7% increase, most would be flat to slightly negative.