Global traffic trends in airfreight remain on a downward path, as cargo volumes declined by 4.4 percent in April year-on-year, according to the Airports Council International (ACI).
“Many of the world’s freight hubs are contracting vis-à-vis 2011 levels,” reported ACI, a worldwide association of 580 airport operators in 179 countries.
Fifteen of the world’s top 20 freight airports—which together account for more than 50 percent of global freight volumes—contracted in freight volumes for April. The contraction was especially evident in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific with declines of 7 percent, 4.3 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively.
Experiencing double-digit declines were Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (16.7 percent), Pudong International Airport (12.3 percent), and Flughafen Frankfurt (10.8 percent).
“The European debt problem is having a contagion effect on other economies and trading partners,” said Rafael Echevarne, ACI World’s economics director. “Traffic volume in air freight has been curtailed not only in the economies of Europe but also in the trading hubs of North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.”
In the first four months of the year, global airfreight volumes went down 2.4 percent from the same period a year ago; on a comparable 12-month rolling basis, the decrease was 2.6 percent.
