Though still growing, air cargo expanded more slowly in May 2018, confirming a downward trend noticed since the start of this year, according to traffic figures from WorldACD.
Year-over-year, air cargo volume increased by 2.6% worldwide in May, yield measured in euro rose by 7.1%, and measured in U.S. dollars by 14.4%.
From January through May, the growth was 4.3% year-on-year.
The origins Chile (+58%), Japan (+18%), Canada (+17%), and the U.S. (+5.8%) outperformed many other countries. But growth from the Americas came at a price, as year-over-year yield improvements in the Americas were well below 10%, much lower than elsewhere in the world.
The origins India, Russia, and Western Europe all showed negative growth year-on-year in May.
As in previous months, long-haul traffic increased more than short-haul, while specific cargo categories again outpaced general cargo.
The worldwide air cargo yield went down to a level of US$1.88 in May 2018, or 3% below April 2018, but still 14% higher than in May 2017. Measured in euros, the yield increased by 1% month-over-month, while the year-over-year increase was 7%.
By growth in terms of geographical area, the African carrier group was the only one improving its small market share in all regions. Carriers from Asia-Pacific also did well except in their home area.
Carriers from the Americas increased their market share in three regions, but lost share in both North and South America. The group of Middle Eastern carriers lost share in three regions, including their home area, and gained in Europe and Latin America.
Lastly, the group of European carriers gained share everywhere, except in their home market Europe.
WorldACD said this indicates that the growth in traffic from all areas “except Africa, benefited the group of ‘non-home carriers’ more than the group of ‘home carriers’.”
Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt
