Cargo up in August - IATA
- Latest News
- Friday, 01 October 2010
During the first quarter of this year, IATA said air freight grew at an annualised rate of 25 per cent and the first two months of the third quarter
recorded annualised growth of 12 per cent.
With the restocking phase of the inventory cycle now complete, growth rates are shifting back towards trend growth in world trade of around 6 per cent, the Association said, adding freight markets are still growing but at a significantly slower pace.
Regionally, freight volumes carried by Asian carriers have increased by 3.8 per cent since January while European and North American carriers have seen a 6-8 per cent expansion over the same period.
Drivers contributing to this shift include weaker currencies in the US and Europe supporting export growth and improving the competitiveness of US and European carriers.
There also has been a fall in import activity in Europe and the US, dampening demand for finished goods manufactured in Asia, IATA says.
"The August results are a reminder that as we move into 2011, we are expecting a more challenging revenue environment," said IATA director
general and ceo Giovanni Bisignani.
In the cabins, passenger traffic increased by 6.4 per cent year-on-year for the month (6.2 per cent in Asia Pacific, five per cent Europe and 5.3 per cent North America).
This was lower than the 9.5 per cent growth in passenger traffic recorded in July.
"The rapid improvements in demand that we saw earlier this year are behind us. The slow down of demand in August is consistent with our forecast for a tougher end to 2010 as government stimulus monies run out without having generated significant improvements in employment," Bisignani said.
