International air freight markets weakened for the full calendar year 2011 following a strong rebound in the preceding year, the latest traffic figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed.
Asia-Pacific international air cargo demand in freight tonne kilometers fell by 4.8 percent in 2011, reflecting weakening world trade conditions, AAPA said in a statement on January 26.
Despite the decline in freight demand, offered freight capacity matched that of the previous year, leading to a 3.4 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor, to 66.6 percent.
“The year saw air cargo demand weaken significantly compared to the restocking surge experienced in 2010, reflecting cautious management of supply chain inventories in the expectation of relatively weaker growth prospects for the major developed economies,” said Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general.
Looking ahead, Herdman said, “Uncertainty over prospects for the global economy in 2012 has somewhat overshadowed the immediate outlook, and airlines worldwide are bracing themselves for another challenging year ahead.”
The AAPA is the trade association for scheduled international airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region. The AAPA permanent secretariat is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with international representation in Brussels and Washington, D.C. Collectively, the region’s airlines carry 18 million tonnes of cargo, representing two-fifths of global air cargo traffic.
Photo by Hyougushi
