Air Freight volumes begin to show signs of life as confidence improves

GENEVA - The International Air Transport Association (IATA)  has released June figures showing a 1.2% on-year expansion in global air freight demand. Although weak, this is an improvement when compared to 0.9% on-year demand growth recorded in May and just 0.1% growth realised over the first half of the year. IATA says while previously the global economic trend has been defined by robust emerging economies and stagnant growth in developed markets, the strongest improvements in business confidence are now occurring in some developed economies. Nevertheless, overall business confidence, a key indicator for air freight, continues to be weak.

From May to June, global freight volumes increased by 0.8%. A quarter of that improvement was captured by European airlines, which saw a 0.9% improvement in demand compared to May, and 2.6% up compared to June 2012. In contrast, Asia-Pacific carriers (the biggest players in global air freight) and North American airlines recorded year-on-year declines of 1.8% and 1.2% respectively.