International air freight demand in July fell 3.2 percent year-over-year, largely due to a relatively strong July in 2011 and overall weak demand in line with subdued world trade growth, a group of global airlines said.
“The uncertain economic outlook is having a negative impact on demand for air transport,” said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
He added: “The growth trend is clearly slowing. This, along with rising fuel prices is likely to make it a tough second half of the year.”
By region, Asia-Pacific carriers saw the steepest decline in demand, down 7.6 percent from the previous year, while capacity dipped just 4.3 percent. Asia-Pacific carriers have experienced virtually no growth in freight traffic since the fourth quarter of 2011, IATA said.
European airlines had a 3.6 percent decline in traffic, with a 0.9 percent rise in capacity, and have seen only a 1 percent rise in demand since the fourth quarter of last year.
North American airlines also had a 3.6 percent drop in demand, matching a similar reduction in capacity.
Latin American airlines’ demand fell 5.6 percent while capacity climbed 13.9 percent for July this year compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
Only carriers from the Middle East registered a positive performance, with traffic rising 16 percent on an 11 percent boost in capacity.
“Airlines have responded to this slower growth environment by reducing the capacity added to markets, a move which has stabilized load factors at relatively high levels and provided some support for profitability in the face of high fuel prices,” IATA said.
Photo: markjhandel
