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Asian cargo carriers look to strong year end with November demand up 5pc

THE Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says preliminary traffic figures for November showed faster growth in international air cargo demand posting a 5.3 per cent year-over-year increase for the month, which the organisation attributed to "broad-based improvements in new export orders".

Monthly freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) rose from 5.8 billion in 2015 to 6.1 billion in 2016, according to AAPA members. However, on an annual comparison of the two years, the rise is only 1.2 per cent, suggesting a slower start to the year and a strong finish, according to the New York's Air Cargo World.

Demand outpaced a 3.2 per cent year-on-year increase in capacity, driving up the average international freight load factor by 1.4 percentage points in November, to reach the year's monthly high of 66.9 per cent.

Said AAPA director general Andrew Herdman: "The region's carriers have seen a modest but progressive recovery in international air cargo demand this year, with volume growth of 1.2 per cent for the first 11 months of 2016."

While Asian air cargo markets gained momentum over the course of the year, Mr Herdman stressed that rates were still highly competitive, "reflecting soft global trade conditions".

The AAPA maintained a positive outlook for the global economy in 2017, including further growth in demand for air travel and cargo, however the organisation stressed that airlines will need to be vigilant about costs, noting that fluctuations in oil prices and exchange-rate volatility were likely to continue for some time.