Asia-Pacific airlines show modest recovery in cargo

Air cargo markets in the Asia-Pacific region are growing, albeit slowly, according to preliminary traffic figures for the month of July, recently released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Member airlines’ cargo volumes grew by 3.9 percent, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs). In spite of a 3.4 percent increase in capacity for July, the international freight load factor still rose slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 62.1 percent.

“International air cargo demand has been relatively weak, with year-to-date demand registering a 1.5 percent decline, compared to the same period a year ago, but we have seen a modest pickup in air cargo volumes during the past couple of months,” explained Andrew Herdman, AAPA’s director general. “Given the highly competitive market conditions, Asia-Pacific airlines are focusing on carefully managing costs.”

Over the January-to-July period, however, FTKs reported by the carriers remained depressed, down 1.5 percent to 36.87 billion. Available freight tonne kilometers over the same time period were up 2.4 percent. Member airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) elected to cut freighter flights between Japan and China, based, in part, on weakening demand for Japan-produced, high-value auto parts from Chinese manufacturers.

Join us for networking and discussion of logistics innovation at Air Cargo World’s new ELEVATE 2016 Conference, Oct. 10, in Miami. Click here for details.