Air freight demand up 5.8 percent y/y in April: AAPA

May 28, 2018: The Asia Pacific air cargo market has recorded 5.8 percent year-on-year increase in freight demand in April, according to the traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Improvement in client demand within the region, on the back of stronger domestic conditions, aided growth in air cargo markets. After accounting for a 6.6 percent expansion in offered freight capacity, the average international freight load factor was 0.5 percentage points lower at 64.1 percent for the month.

The association cites expansions in global service and manufacturing sectors as the factors for the encouraging growth in just air cargo sector, but also passenger market.

“A combined total of 29.8 million international passengers were carried by the region's airlines in April, representing a robust 9.3 percent increase compared to the same month last year. Business activity strengthened across major advanced and emerging market economies during the month, with positive confidence levels boosting growth in business travel demand,” informed AAPA in a recently released press release.

Andrew Herdman, director general, AAPA said: “The global economy is still on a solid footing, with growth in most sectors, including technology and consumer goods. Accordingly, business and consumer sentiment remained relatively positive, underpinning further growth in passenger travel and air cargo demand.”

“Overall, during the first four months of the year, Asia Pacific airlines carried an aggregate total of 118 million international passengers, a solid 7.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Correspondingly, air cargo demand registered an encouraging 5.7 percent growth during the same period, on top of the strong 9.6 percent annual increase recorded in 2017.”

Looking ahead, Herdman said, “Sustained growth in the region and the wider global economic expansion lends credence to a positive market outlook for the remainder of the year. However, operating conditions remain challenging, with airlines still facing intense competition and the pressure of sharply higher fuel costs, up more than 30 percent compared to last year. The region's carriers continue to explore avenues for further growth, whilst implementing pro-active measures to control costs and achieve further operational efficiencies.”