Airfreight volumes in January 2016 for Asia-Pacific regional airlines, whose share accounts for almost 39% of the world market, expanded by more than 1% year-on-year, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In a statement, it said freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) for regional carriers rose 1.3% in January this year, although the international freight figure was a much lower 0.2%. The region’s freight load factor (FLF) fell, however, by 2.3 percentage points to 49.8%, while other regional carriers also reported declines in their FLF.
IATA said the performance of Asia-Pacific airlines was affected by the contraction of emerging Asia trade in the second half of 2015 and the weak general trade to and from Asia-Pacific.
Meanwhile, global airfreight markets recorded a rise of 2.7% in FTK compared to January 2015, continuing the improving trend seen toward the end of 2015, and posting the fastest pace since April of last year.
The total FTK of the industry surpassed the previous all-time peak reached in February 2015 with all regions except Africa and Latin America expanding in January.
The FLF, however, dropped by 1.8 percentage points to 41.3%, indicating that yields are likely to come under further pressure.
“Despite this good start, the underlying weak global trade performance makes it unlikely that growth will accelerate significantly in the coming months,” IATA said.
Director general and CEO Tony Tyler said that although the volumes are growing, yields and revenues are still under tremendous pressure.
“Removing barriers to trade will shore up the foundation for stronger economics,” he added.
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0
