Global air cargo volume in November recorded strong growth, making the 2016 peak season one of the better ones in a long time.
According to WorldACD, volume increased by 6.9% year-on-year in November, the fourth month in a row of acceleration.
Moreover, yield in U.S. dollar terms has grown much higher in November than in previous years, said the research service provider. Worldwide, yield improved in November by 3.9% over the previous month and by 8.7% compared with August.
But unlike in earlier months, year-on-year growth measured in direct ton kilometers was only slightly higher at 7.1%, indicating a smaller shift towards longer haul traffic than in previous months. One of the influencing factors was the boom in the relative short-haul intra-Asia traffic in November, which increased 15% year-on-year, said WorldACD.
Exports from China and Hong Kong played a major role in the positive end-of-year developments. In the main markets from Asia-Pacific, between August and November the yield to North America rose by 25%, and to Europe by 30%.
“Air cargo has not seen such seasonal yield improvements since 2009,” said WorldACD. Volume increases since the summer were spectacular in markets from Hong Kong (+30%) and Shanghai (+17%), and were also higher than in previous years.
Although growth was concentrated in Asia-Pacific, perishable exports from Egypt, U.S. Pacific, Chile, and Colombia also went up in the period October/November, ranging between 16% for Chile and 34% for Egypt year-over-year.
Notably, said the report, since 2010, there was hardly any growth from Asia-Pacific to Europe, but growth was 39% in the opposite direction, which speaks for the increasing purchasing power of Asia.
Over the same period, the smaller markets from Africa to the Middle East & South Asia (MESA) rose 73%, from Central & South America to Asia-Pacific by 58%, and within the MESA area by 55%.
But over the past six years, the market between Africa and North America contracted by 20% in both directions.
The origin countries faring exceptionally well over the same long-term period were China Southeast & West, Vietnam, Turkey, Norway, Luxembourg, and Poland, all growing on average by more than 10% each year since 2010.
As-Pac carriers’ volumes climb 5.3%
Meanwhile, traffic figures for November released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed further growth in international air cargo demand.
For the region’s carriers, air cargo demand climbed 5.3% higher, underpinned by broad-based improvements in new export orders. Combined with a 3.2% increase in offered freight capacity, the average international freight load factor gained 1.4 percentage points to reach the year’s monthly high of 66.9%.
Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said, “The region’s carriers have seen a modest but progressive recovery in international air cargo demand this year, with volume growth of 1.2% for the first eleven months of 2016.”
Looking ahead, Herdman said air cargo markets picked up modestly during the course of the year, but rates remain highly competitive, reflecting soft global trade conditions.
