Cargo heads upbeat on profitability for next 12 months

The majority, some 61%, of heads of cargo and airline chief finance officers expect their level of profitability to improve further over the coming 12 months.
When surveyed in early-April by IATA, 67% of senior managers also indicated an improvement in year-on-year profitability in first quarter of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017.
The survey indicated that both passenger and freight yields are expected to rise further over the course of the year ahead, with the upwards trend in the weighted average scores, since their 2016 trough, being maintained.
In what was described by IATA as “a very positive outcome from the April survey,” more than 50% of respondents expect to increase employment over the next 12 months, the highest outright positive response in more than a decade.
In terms of freight demand, 65% of respondents reported a rise in demand in Q1 compared with a year ago – the strongest result in almost seven years.
While the proportion who reported a decline increased to 11.5%, the weighted average backward-looking score remained close to its highest level since the post-global financial crisis rebound in 2010/11.
Said IATA: “The outlook for airfreight demand softened somewhat this month. Some 46% of respondents – the lowest outcome in 18 months – expect an improvement in the year ahead (down from 63% in the January survey).
“The same proportion expect volumes to remain unchanged (up from 30% last quarter). Overall, the outlook for freight remains positive, but the survey responses are consistent with indications of a moderation in demand conditions after a very strong performance in 2017.”
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