African carriers record largest freight volume of 27.6% in May

International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global airfreight markets showing that African carriers posted the largest year-on-year increase in demand of all regions in May 2017, with freight volumes growing 27.6 percent.
While the capacity increased by 14.7 percent over the same time period, the global airfreight markets showed that demand, measured in freight ton kilometres (FTKs), grew 12.7 percent in May 2017, compared with the year-earlier period.
This was up from the 8.7 percent annual growth recorded in April 2017, and is more than three times higher than the five-year average growth rate of 3.8 percent.
The continued growth of airfreight demand is consistent with an improvement in world trade. This, in turn, corresponds with new global export orders remaining close to a six-year high in May.
There are, however, some signs that the cyclical growth period may have peaked. The global inventory-to-sales ratio, for example, has started rising. This indicates that the period when companies look to re-stock inventories quickly, which often gives air cargo a boost, has ended.
Regardless of these developments, the outlook for airfreight is optimistic with demand expected to grow at a robust rate of 8 percent during Q3 2017.
“May was another good month for air cargo. Demand growth accelerated, bolstered by strong export orders. And that outpaced capacity growth, which should be positive for yields. But the industry can’t afford to rest on its laurels.
“With indications that the cyclical growth period may have peaked, the onus is on the industry to improve its value proposition by accelerating process modernisation and enhancing customer-centricity,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

 

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