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ME air freight demand increases over 10pc in May

GENEVA, July 6, 2017

Middle Eastern carriers’ year-on-year freight volumes increased 10.2 per cent in May 2017, a sharp jump from the 3.1 per cent dip in April.

The recent swings in the growth rate appear to be mainly a reflection of the more volatile monthly data last year. Capacity increased 1.7 per cent. Seasonally-adjusted freight volumes maintained their upward trend. Demand between the Middle East and Europe remains strong, increasing 19 per cent so far this year but traffic to Asia has weakened, growing by just over 1 per cent.

African carriers’ posted the largest year-on-year increase in demand of all regions in May with freight volumes growing 27.6 per cent, followed by European airlines (15 per cent), North American carriers (13.9 per cent) and Asia-Pacific airlines (11.3 per cent).  Latin America was the only region to report single-digit year-on-year growth, posting a demand of 6.7 per cent in May.

According to data released by The International Air Transport Association (Iata), global demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), grew 12.7 per cent in May compared to the year-earlier period. This was up from the 8.7 per cent annual growth recorded in April 2017 and is more than three times higher than the five year average growth rate of 3.8 per cent.

Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), grew by 5.2 per cent year-on-year in May.

The continued growth of air freight demand is consistent with an improvement in world trade. This, in turn, corresponds with new global export orders remaining close to a six-year high in May. There are, however, some signs that the cyclical growth period may have peaked. The global inventory-to-sales ratio, for example, has started rising. This indicates that the period when companies look to re-stock inventories quickly, which often gives air cargo a boost, has ended.  Regardless of these developments, the outlook for air freight is optimistic with demand expected to grow at a robust rate of 8 per cent during Q3 2017.

“May was another good month for air cargo. Demand growth accelerated, bolstered by strong export orders. And that outpaced capacity growth which should be positive for yields. But the industry can’t afford to rest on its laurels. With indications that the cyclical growth period may have peaked, the onus is on the industry to improve its value proposition by accelerating process modernization and enhancing customer-centricity,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia news Service




Tags: increase | demand | freight | Middle | East |

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