For a second consecutive month, air freight markets demonstrated strong gains in October, according to a report by Airports Council International (ACI).
After a 5.7% growth rate in September, freight volume increased 6.6% in October, far above the 2.1% twelve-month growth average, said ACI. The impressive 9.9% growth rate in international freight was accompanied by a 0.5% decline in domestic air freight volumes.
All regions witnessed gains: the Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets recorded the strongest growth at 11.5% and 10.2%, respectively.
The release of new key electronic products in October—mainly mobile devices—contributed to the surge of air freight traffic. Dubai and Doha, the two main hubs in the Middle East, observed an increased growth rate of 9.5% and 21.5%, respectively.
Similarly, Shanghai, Incheon, Tokyo, and Taipei, four of the top five airports in freight traffic in Asia-Pacific, witnessed double-digit growth of 11.3%, 10.6%, 10.9%, and 13.6%, respectively, ACI reported.
Cathay Pacific volumes 4.6% higher
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways noted an increase in the amount of cargo and mail uplifted in November compared to the same month last year.
Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried 167,520 tonnes of cargo and mail in November, an increase of 4.6% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 1.1 percentage points to 68.1%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometers, decreased by 1.9%, while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs) decreased by 0.2%.
In the year to the end of November, the tonnage carried rose by 2.5% against a 0.3% increase in capacity, with an increase of 0.3% in RTKs.
“November saw our tonnage continue to grow, which was backed by strong exports of new products from Mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as special products from Northeast Asia and the Americas. During the peak there were more ocean-to-air conversions. Apart from an increased load factor, yields have also improved month-on-month,” said Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales Mark Sutch.
In November, too, the company introduced its twice-weekly freighter service to Portland, Oregon to tap into the export demand for a range of commodities from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to Asia. It also launched a once-per-week freighter service to Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport in Australia for carrying fresh produce and machinery in and out of the Southeast Queensland region.
Photo: 玄史生
