IATA: Airfreight volumes shoot up 14% in March

Asia Pacific airlines saw volumes surge 13.6 percent in March, while shipments carried by European airlines jumped 18.2 percent, and North American airfreight volumes grew 9.5 percent, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association.    Global airfreight volumes soared 14 percent year-over-year in March 2017, the highest growth rate since October 2010, according to recent figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   Available airfreight capacity increased 4.2 percent for the month compared with March 2016.
   IATA said the continued growth in airfreight demand in March is “consistent with an uptick in world trade and a six-year high in new export orders.”
   “An increase in the shipment of silicon materials typically used in high-value consumer electronics shipped by air, is also likely underpinning a portion of the strong performance,” the association added.
   Asia Pacific airlines saw volumes surge 13.6 percent in March, while volumes carried by European airlines jumped 18.2 percent, North American airfreight volumes grew 9.5 percent, and Middle Eastern airlines carried 16.3 percent more cargo than in the same month last year.
   African airlines posted the largest year-over-year increase in demand, however, with airfreight volumes up 33.5 percent from March 2016.
   Latin American airlines were the only group to see volumes decline during the month, with shipments falling 4.2 percent from the previous year.
   Through the first three months of 2017, airfreight volumes have jumped nearly 11 percent compared with the first quarter last year (after adjusting for leap year in 2016), according to IATA. Capacity increased 3.7 percent over the same period.
   “March capped a robust first quarter with the strongest year-on-year air freight growth in six-and-a-half years,” IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement. “Optimism is returning to the industry as the business stabilizes after many years in the doldrums.
   “There is, however, still much lost ground to recover while facing the dual headwinds of rising fuel and labor costs,” he added. “It remains critical to use the improvement in the industry’s fortunes as an opportunity to enhance the value offering by implementing modern customer-centric initiatives that streamline processes and reduce costs.”