Cargo volume up by 5.7 percent in January, reports Airports Council International

Mar 17, 2017: Cargo volumes handled increased 5.7 percent in January, according to the latest figures released by the trade organisation of the world’s airports, Airports Council International (ACI).

“While air freight volumes continued to gain momentum, with a spillover effect in 2016, the Chinese New Year, which had a tremendous impact on air freight shipments distorted the figures and year-over-year comparisons,” said ACI through a statement.

International freight volumes continued to post relatively higher growth with an increase of 9.5 percent, whereas domestic traffic dropped 2.8 percent for the month of January.

Again, this drop in domestic traffic was largely the result of business closures in the Asia-Pacific region during the Chinese New Year.

The trade association, mentioned, “Heightened business confidence through inventory build-ups and increased export orders remained apparent for the near term, despite the looming uncertainty of trade policies in the face of protectionist sentiments that swept many countries. The political uncertainty in the second half of 2016 waned.”

All regions, except Latin America and the Caribbean, showed significant year on year improvements in cargo traffic in January. Africa volumes were up by 9.6 percent year on year, Asia Pacific region by 4.5 percent, Europe by 8.3 percent, Latin America and the Caribbean by 2.5 percent, the Middle East by 8.2 percent and North America by 5.1 percent.