ABC reports 2 percent volume growth in 2018

Russia-based Volga-Dnepr Group’s all-cargo carrier, AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) reported 2018 cargo volumes up two percent year-over-year, to just over 700,000 tonnes. Despite the lackluster growth overall,  AirBridgeCargo said higher-value specialty cargo volumes grew 25 percent y-o-y.

While the marginal increase sounds slight compared to AirBridgeCargo’s double-digit growth rates of recent years, the figure isn’t far off from IATA’s estimated industry average growth rate of 3.9 percent. Another bright spot was the carrier’s growth in segments other than general cargo.  ABC reported pharma volumes up by more than 60 percent, dangerous goods shipments up by 40 percent and oversize and heavy cargo volumes up 20 percent, year-over-year.

Looking ahead to 2019, Volga-Dnepr Group and its affiliate carriers will likely continue focusing significant attention on specialty cargo, particularly e-commerce flows. Last year, the Group inked a partnership with Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics subsidiary.

For more on AirBridgeCargo’s 2018 performance, see Cargo Facts’ detailed analysis.