Asia Pacific airlines witness significant decline in July cargo demand: AAPA

Aug 28, 2019: Asia Pacific airlines have registered a 7.7 percent fall in air cargo demand in July, according to traffic statistics released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

The air cargo demand continues to decline impacted by falling exports and a worsening trade outlook.

“Mounting trade tensions, alongside deteriorating business confidence levels contributed to further declines in orders for goods,” said AAPA in its official release.

The markedly lower demand, coupled with almost flat expansion in offered freight capacity, by 0.4 percent, led to a 5.2 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor, to 58.9 percent for the month.

Asia's advancing role in air cargo

While, the international air passenger demand continued to grow moderately supported by business and leisure related travel. The number of international passengers carried by the region’s airlines climbed 3.4 percent higher year-on-year to a combined 32.5 million.

Demand in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) rose by 2.7 percent year-on-year, underscoring the relative strength of regional travel markets.

A matching 2.7 percent expansion in available seat capacity led to an average international passenger load factor of 82.4 percent for the month, unchanged compared to the same month last year.

Andrew Herdman, director general, AAPA said: “During the first seven months of the year, the number of international passengers carried by Asian airlines grew by 4.6 percent to a combined 219 million supported by the availability of competitive airfares and expanding networks. In addition, sustained expansion in major Asian emerging and developing economies fueled the appetite for international travel.”

“By contrast, however, global trade conditions deteriorated further, as higher tariffs disrupted global supply chains, and Asian airlines saw international air cargo demand fall by 6.2 percent during the first seven months of the year. The weakness in air cargo markets is likely to extend into the coming months, unless we see some meaningful progress in trade negotiations.”

For June, the region’s airlines recorded a 7.2 percent year-on-year fall in air cargo demand as measured in freight tonne kilometres. And on the other hand, the passenger traffic grew 4 percent year-on-year.