Asian exports fuel cargo demand

CONTINUED demand for Asian exports in April saw a 4.7 per cent rise in international freight tonne km for members of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
But freight load factors remained under pressure in April due to cargo capacity expansion, which rose by 5.3%, according to preliminary traffic figures issued by the association for 30 benchmark regional carriers.
The international freight load factor for AAPA’s member airlines averaged 64.3% in April, which is 0.4 percentage points lower than the same month last year.
Collectively, the region’s airlines carry 18 million tonnes of cargo annually, representing 40 per cent of global air cargo traffic respectively, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general said of the outlook for both passenger and cargo: “The overall demand environment looks positive, underpinned by positive growth in the global economy. However, the region’s carriers continue to face intense competition in the marketplace with signs of overcapacity and the resulting yield pressures.”
Latest IATA data for April show that global cargo demand, measured in FTKs, was 3.2 per cent above previous year levels, but traffic levels for the month were 1.1 per cent lower than March, due to a further slowdown in the emerging markets, particularly China.
AAPA is the trade association for scheduled international airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region.