Worldwide air freight ended the first quarter of 2012 showing a downward trend despite a slightimprovement in March following Chinese New Year, and the full-year outlook remains uncertain,
according to the latest traffic figures from IATA and the airports body ACI.Air freight traffic was up by a fractional 0.3 per cent in March, with international volumesessentially flat at 0.1 per cent and domestic volumes showing a small 1.3 per cent rise, accordingto IATA’s monthly survey of airline data. This left traffic down by 0.7 per cent in the firstquarter of the year, with international down 0.9 per cent and domestic up slightly by 0.5 per cent.
IATA took an optimistic view, describing the underlying trend in March as “positive” despiteflat year-on-year growth, given a 2.2 per cent increase compared to February. But the airlineassociation admitted: “The extent of the improvement is uncertain so far since some of this growthcould be a result of the volatility inherent in the monthly growth rates, which on average can bearound /-2 per cent. The performance of world trade, a key driver of air cargo which contractedslightly in February, will provide more insight into the momentum of air freight markets over thecoming months.”
At a regional level, airlines in Asia Pacific saw freight traffic decline by 3.1 per cent inMarch and by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter. European airlines had a 1.9 per cent fall in Marchbut growth of 1.3 per cent over the first three months of the year. North American airlines’ demandrose 1.6 per cent year-on-year in March and was flat in Q1.
Middle Eastern carriers had a strong 15.1 per cent rise in demand, although about fourpercentage points of the rise was attributable to Arab Spring-related traffic decline last year,while traffic was 14.4 per cent higher in January – March 2012. Latin American carriers’ trafficclimbed by 4.9 per cent in March and by 1.2 per cent in Q1, while African carriers saw a 3.9 percent rise compared to the year-ago period and a modest 0.9 per cent increase in the first quarter.
The air freight figures from ACI were somewhat more negative than those of IATA. They showeda 2.2 per cent fall in total tonnage at world airports in March, with international volumes 1.6 percent lower. Over the first three months, total air freight was down two per cent, withinternational 1.6 per cent lower.
“The overall global growth trend in air freight continues to be negative,” ACI stated. “Europe’s economic slowdown has significantly impacted global trade, with a year-over-year declineof -4.3 per cent.” Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam all had lower freight volumes in March, while 14of the world’s 20 largest cargo airports experienced year-over-year declines.
ACI World’s Director of Economics and Programme Development, Dr. Rafael Echevarne, commented:“Short-term prospects continue to be uncertain for air freight, particularly in the major marketsof Europe which continue to experience recessionary type symptoms.”
