Serious business growth for air cargo in April

There was “serious business growth” for air cargo in April after fluctuating performance during the first three months of the year.
Analyst WorldACD said that the cargo volumes increased by 4% in April, compared with a 4.8% improvement during the first quarter, when the Chinese New Year had its usual distorting effect on monthly comparisons with a year earlier.
“The 4% increase in April, though lower than in the Q1, still points to serious business growth in air cargo,” the analyst said.
Over the first four months of the year, Asia Pacific, the largest origin area, grew by 3.7% year on year, less than the worldwide average of 4.6%, with larger business growth to Europe at 4.8% and much less growth to North America at 2.1%.
“The same goes for Europe, the number two origin area (3.5%), but there the growth is mainly to North America (4.6%), and much less to Asia Pacific (+1.4%),” WorldACD said.
“North America, the third largest origin area, shows a large year-on-year growth of 8%, mainly thanks to similar percentage growth to both Asia Pacific and Europe.”
The analyst said that the surge in exports from the US was probably a reflection of the weaker US dollar and the strength of the euro over the first four months.
However, in May, the dollar has been regaining some strength, which could reverse the trend.
Looking at products, pharmaceutical transport increased 17% year on year during the first four months, high tech was up 11% and perishables, the largest category of specialised cargo, improved by 4%.
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