Asia air cargo flat in weak global trade environment, says IATA

GENEVA - Demand for air cargo in the Asia-Pacific region was basically flat, with a 0.1% rise in April compared to last year according to latest IATA figures, which says the largest factor impacting this stagnation is weak trade—globally and in the region. Air freight capacity in Asa-Pacific expanded by 2.8% in April.

For global air freight markets, April 2016 showed a 3.2% increase in demand measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) compared to the same period last year.
IATA said yields remained pressured as April freight capacity (measured in available freight tonne kilometres or AFTKs) increased by 6.6% on-year. 
The strongest growth occurred in the Middle East and Europe, with April demand up by 7.7% and 6.8%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
But IATA warned: “While growth appears to be stronger than in the preceding months of 2016, this is largely due to the disappearance from the comparison data of distorting factors associated with the 2015 strike at seaports on the US West Coast.
”Overall, the demand for air cargo remains soft and lags behind relatively robust growth on the passenger side of the business.”
IATA pointed to weak world trade. “The first quarter of 2016 saw the first annual decline in trade volumes since the global financial crisis in 2009, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) predicts only sluggish growth for the remainder of 2016,” it said.  www.iata.org (ATI).