Airfreight Shows Continued Improvement
Global airfreight demand continued to show improvement during the month of March. According to a recent report from IATA.org, demand for airfreight increased 28.1% compared to March of 2009. While the signs are positive and point to a continued recovery in global airfreight, the March numbers are compared to same time period in 2009, which was near the low point of the recession.
Via IATA.org:
“March results show that the pace of the upturn is strong. But the trauma of the recession is not over. The industry has lost two years of growth, and passenger and freight markets are still 1% below early 2008 highs. Nonetheless, the pace of improvement, based on an improving global economic situation, is much faster than anybody would have expected even six months ago,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
The good news is that global airfreight is now within 1% of it’s high in early 2008. I would expect the cargo numbers to dip slightly in April due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption which shut down European air travel for 6 days.
Nearly all regions showed outstanding growth, with the Latin America region leading the charge with a 47.9% increase. Despite the continued sluggish U.S. economy, U.S. airfreight grew 32.2%.
Lets hope this is a sign of good things to come for the remainder of 2010. According to some of my colleagues on the freight forwarding side of the business, airfreight space out of Hong Kong is extremely tight and rates are on the rise.
IATA July Report: Cargo shows continued improvement
IATA.org has recently released their airline industry report for the month of July and cargo volumes, while still down, did show some improvement as compared to earlier this year. July cargo numbers were down 11.3 percent compared to the same time period last year; however, the decline in cargo demand of 11.3 percent was a slight improvement over June’s -16.5 percent and the -19.3 percent average for the first seven months of the year.
IATA attributed the improvement in cargo demand to companies re-stocking depleted inventories. Although the numbers are improving, IATA does not foresee a quick rebound.
Once inventories are at desired levels in relation to sales, improvements in demand will level off until business and consumer confidence returns. Given the large amount of debt in all sectors of the economy, instant relief is not in the forecast,” said Bisignani.
In terms of regional volumes, all markets with the exception of Africa showed an improvement compared to June and the Middle East was the only market to show any growth.
Here is a breakdown by region:
* Falls by Asia-Pacific carriers, European carriers and North American carriers were 9.5%, 16.2% and 14.6% respectively.
* African carriers posted the worst performance at -25.9%. This was the only region to see a deterioration in freight demand compared to June when the region’s carriers posted a 20.2% decline compared to the same month in the previous year.
* Middle Eastern carriers were the only region to grow, posting a 1% growth in demand compared to July 2008.
* Latin American carriers posted a 1.2% fall in demand compared to July 2008.
Source – IATA.org
ATA Reports Sharp Decline in Air Cargo
The Airport Transportation of America (ATA) reports a sharp decline in international air cargo with volumes decreasing 20 percent in May compared to the same month in 2008. The report measures the decrease in revenue ton miles and is the 10th straight month of declining air cargo volumes.
According to the article, airline passenger volumes didn’t fare very well either.
The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today reported that passenger revenue[1] fell 26 percent in June 2009 versus the same month in 2008 – the eighth consecutive month in which passenger revenue has fallen from the prior year.
Is cargo recovery near?
Not according to Swiss Forwarder Kuehne & Nagel. According to an article from the company website, K&N does not expect a market recovery in volumes for sea and air freight in the short term. Kuehne & Nagel net earnings fell 16.2 percent during the first half of 2009 compared to the same time period last year.
Seafreight
K&N stated that although the global ocean market was characterized by declining volumes and fierce competition, the company was able to build upon their first quarter 2009 numbers by increasing volumes 10 percent from the 1st to 2nd quarter.
Airfreight
Although global cargo volumes have suffered greatly in 2009 (IATA figures show decline of 20% to 24%), K&N’s air cargo volume declined at a below market level of 19 percent. From the first to the second quarter 2009, K&N increased volumes by 10 percent.
Outlook
The Swiss Forwarder said it does not expect a substantial short-term improvement in the global economy and markets. “The company will therefore continue its focused dual strategy of disciplined cost management and market share expansion.”
