Airport data points to Asian air cargo slowdown in July

Airport cargo data issued today by Airports Council International Asia-Pacific is the latest set of figures to point to a continued slowdown in Asian demand.
The ACI figures show that freight volumes at airports in the Asia-Pacific region were flat in July compared with last year.
Performance was also subdued in the Middle East in July as airports in the region recorded a 0.9% decline on a year ago.
While cargo performance at Asian and Middle Eastern airports was flat, there were some bright spots, with fast growing Manila recording the highest growth rate of 15% year on year.
Of the top three cargo airports in the region, Hong Kong recorded a 1.9% year-on-year decline, Shanghai Pudong recorded a 0.7% slide and Dubai, both DXB and DWC together, recorded a 3.4% increase.
The figures come as the outlook for Asian exports remains uncertain on the back of weakening global demand and structural challenges for leading Asian economies.
Latest IATA airline data also points to a slowdown, as carriers based in Asia Pacific recorded a 1.9% year-on-year contraction in freight tonne km.
“The region has experienced notable declines in import and export volumes so far this year,” the organisation said.
“According to [financial services provider] Markit, China’s manufacturing sector has been struggling during the recent months, accompanied by weakness in export orders, causing some firms to cut employment at the steepest rates since 2009.
“Most recent data has shown that economic slowdown in China is likely to be worse than expected.”
The weaker demand performance looks set to continue into August as Air Cargo News’ analysis of the latest airline data revealed that four of the seven airlines included in the report saw traffic slip on a year earlier.