On the heels of the best air cargo performance by carriers in March since the 2008-2009 crisis, worldwide volume moderated in April, but with the origin Asia-Pacific still posting double-digit growth, according to the latest figures from WorldACD.
Following a 14.6% increase in chargeable weight and 16.4% increase in DTKs (direct ton kilometers) in March, global air cargo booked a respectable 7.7% volume increase in April compared to the same month a year ago, said WorldACD.
In DTK terms, growth for April was 8.5%, “indicating an upward trend in the average distance between origins and final destinations of shipments.” Revenues did well, as worldwide yield improved further, growing by 2 U.S. cents month-over-month and by 5 cents year-on-year.
Because of calendar effects, March results were somewhat inflated: a year-on-year outbound volume growth of 19% in March was followed by a meager 5% in April, said the air cargo market research service. But the two months together still averaged an impressive 12.1% year-over-year growth outbound and 9.3% inbound.
However, different parts of the industry showed very different performances. April volume growth ranged from 14% in the origin Asia-Pacific to a contraction of 3% in the origin Africa. Taking March and April together, year-on-year growth for air freight carriers in all regions is stronger than the growth in the period January-February, except for the origin Africa.
WorldACD said the stronger results may be due to a combined Lunar New Year and Easter effect, with a monthly change in the number of “good cargo days” adding to the positive outcome.
For the first four months of the year, volume was up a solid 9% compared with 2016. “To put this in perspective, the first four months of 2016 were flat compared with the same period in 2015,” said the report.
Notably, however, the usual worldwide air cargo drop from March to April was large this year: a fall of 8% compared to an average fall of 4% in the previous three years. While the March-April drop had become gradually smaller over the past three years in almost all regions, it became larger this year in all regions, except in Latin America.
“So, the growth acceleration we witness since Summer 2016 continued this year, but the size of the March-April drop in 2017 may act as a caveat against the view that good times are here to stay,” said the report.
In Asia-Pacific, the origins Hong Kong and China East are doing very well, but Japan has emerged as a surprisingly strong performer in the first part of 2017.
“The country is among the world’s serious growth markets, both inbound and outbound,” noted WorldACD. “Good news came from two smaller markets as well, with a growth of over 30% YoY for the origins Vietnam and Poland.”
Photo: Kanchi1979
