ACI: Global YTD airfreight traffic rises 8.7%, monthly demand up 10%

North America recorded an 8.9 percent jump in domestic freight in August and a 10.7 percent jump in international freight during August, according to recent data from Airports Council International (ACI).    Global air freight traffic reached a three-month peak in August, with a 10.5 percent global increase that brought year-to-date growth to 8.7 percent, according to newly released data from Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association for airports across the world.
   A general pattern that was seen in July continued in August for most regions, according to the ACI. North America and Latin America-Caribbean airport freight, which lagged behind in July, rallied to the global growth trend and reached 10.1 percent and 9.1 percent growth, statistics show.
   North America recorded an 8.9 percent jump in domestic freight in August and a 10.7 percent jump in international freight during the same month, data show. For the year-to-date, domestic freight was up 3.2 percent through August, while international cargo rose 12.9 percent through the eight-month period.
   The continent of Africa is said to have recorded particularly high numbers freight numbers, according to airports council data, reaching 21.6 percent and boosting its year-to-date cargo figure to 14.7 percent. At the national level, Kenya was a “significant contributor,” the ACI said, with a 66.7 percent increase in freight. However, although Nigeria experienced an improvement in passenger traffic, its freight volumes declined by 6.4 percent, data show, compared to the same time period in 2016.
   Kenya’s main airport, Nairobi, recorded a 75.5 percent year-over-year increase in freight volumes, ACI statistics show.
   “Having been in negative territory for several months in the last year, the airport was able to recover its freight traffic and surpass previous volumes,” the Council explained in a statement.