Global air cargo volumes slowed in April following a strong start in the early part of the year as the industry heads toward an uncertain future, in contrast with passenger traffic which remains buoyant, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
Airfreight posted moderate growth of 3.3% in April year-over-year, although the first four months saw an accumulated increase of 4.4% year-over-year.
“The slowed growth in April comes after the upsurge in February due to the Lunar New Year and the modal shift towards air transport resulting from congestion at sea ports along the western coast of the United States,” explained ACI.
The council, a worldwide association of airports that counts 590 member airport authorities operating 1,850 airports in 173 countries, added that this development is consistent with weakened global trade volumes amidst ongoing concerns in the Euro area and the slowdown across Asian export markets.
Freight volumes in the Asia-Pacific region grew modestly by 2.6%, whereas Europe inched up by only 0.8%.
Meanwhile passenger traffic increased by 5.6% in April 2015 compared to the previous year. International passenger traffic grew by 4.8% year-over-year while domestic traffic grew by 6.4%. Most of the buoyant activity stemmed from the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin American-Caribbean regions, with passenger traffic gains of 9.4%, 8.2%, and 7.1%, respectively, in April.
“While passenger traffic remains strong in some key markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, there is growing concern that air freight volumes will become sluggish with respect to future growth prospects,” commented Rafael Echevarne, economics director of ACI World.
“The weaker than expected economic performance in the United States and the global trade slowdown in Asian markets will inevitably have an unfavorable impact. That being said, volumes remain in positive territory in relation to year-over-year growth. We have yet to see how this will play out in the coming months.”
Photo: Miita
