Asia Pacific carriers record another cargo improvement in November
05 / 01 / 2017
Asian carriers continued to benefit from improving air cargo market conditions in November but global trade remains soft.
The latest update from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines shows that airlines in the region registered a 5.3% year-on-year improvement in cargo demand in November “underpinned by broad-based improvements in new export orders”.
The figures reflect the results reported by individual airlines for the month.
Airlines saw average cargo load factors improve by 1.4 percentage points on last year to reach a 2016 high of 66.9%.
AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said: “The region’s carriers have seen a modest but progressive recovery in international air cargo demand this year, with volume growth of 1.2% for the first eleven months of 2016.
“Air cargo markets picked up modestly during the course of the year, but rates remain highly competitive, reflecting soft global trade conditions.
“The general outlook for the global economy in 2017, including further growth in demand for air travel, remains reasonably positive, but airlines will need to be vigilant over costs, given fluctuations in oil prices as well as exchange rate volatility."
Over the first 11 months of 2016, demand is up by 1.2% compared with the same period in 2015, while average load factors are 1.3 percentage points behind at 63.5%.
