Air cargo demand continuing to lift a trade recovers

April 6, 2017

GENEVA – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released demand growth results for global air freight markets for February 2017 showing an 8.4% increase in demand measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) compared to the same period last year. After adjusting for the impact of the leap year in 2016, demand increased by 12% -- almost four times better than the five-year average rate of 3.0%.

“The continued growth of air freight demand in 2017 is consistent with an uptick in world trade, which corresponds with new global export orders remaining at elevated levels in March,” IATA said.
“Of particular note is the expanded volume of semi-conductor materials typically used in high-value consumer electronics.”
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO, said the rapid growth of niche markets such as cross-border e-commerce and time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals were showing robust growth.
“Any optimistic look at the future sees growing demand for specialised value-added services.
“Shippers are telling us that the key to turning the current uptick in the cargo industry’s fortunes into longer-term growth is modernizing our antiquated processes.
“We must use the current momentum to push ahead with the elements of the e-cargo vision—including the e-air waybill which is nearing 50% market penetration." www.iata.org (ATI).