Air freight volumes around the world dropped 0.8% last month as business and consumer confidencecontinued to slip, leaving a weak outlook for the rest of 2012.
International air freight volumes declined 1.3% year-on-year in August while domestic trafficwas 0.7% lower, according to the latest monthly figures from the International Air TransportAssociation (IATA). Air cargo load factors fell by 0.2 percentage points to 43% in August, as the0.8% traffic decline outweighed the 0.4% capacity cut, it added.
“The minor recovery seen at the start of the year has faded quickly and the stability seen infreight markets during 2012 could be under threat owing to continued economic weakness,” theairline association commented. “Declines in business confidence signal potential further weaknessin the months to come,” it warned.
The strongest performers for air freight last month were carriers from the Middle East, Africaand (to a lesser extent) North America, but freight demand for Asia-Pacific, European, and LatinAmerican airlines contracted compared to last August.
Middle East carriers saw an 11.3% increase in demand against a 10.4% increase in capacity, whileAfrican airlines continued their positive growth for the year with a 10.2% increase in demandcompared to an 8.1% increase in capacity.
North American carriers also did well in August with demand growth of 2.0% compared to theprevious August, while capacity reduced by 2.3%. This left their average freight load factor at33.9%.
In contrast, Asia-Pacific airlines reported a 5.5% decline in demand outpacing the 3.1% trimmingof capacity. This pushed their load factors down to an average 54.4%.
European carriers showed a 0.8% decline in demand compared to August 2011, even as capacity grewby 1.9%, leaving the average load factor at 44%. Latin American airlines recorded a 3.9% decline indemand while capacity grew by 14.0%. Their load factor dropped to 34.2%.
