IATA: Air cargo volumes jump 12.7% in May

African airlines posted the largest year-on-year increase in demand of all the world regions in May 2017, with freight volumes growing 27.6 percent, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association.    Global demand for air cargo in May 2017 surged 12.7 percent compared with the same month a year ago, surpassed the 8.7 percent growth recorded in April, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   IATA said African airlines posted the largest year-on-year increase in volumes (measured in freight ton kilometers) of all the world regions for the month, with airfreight shipments growing 27.6 percent year-over-year.
   Air cargo capacity in the African market rose 14.7 percent during the period. 
   “Demand has been boosted by very strong growth on the [African] trade lanes to and from Asia which have increased by nearly 57 percent so far this year,” IATA said. “However seasonally adjusted growth has levelled off in recent months.”
   Meanwhile, North American carriers posted an increase in air cargo volumes of 13.9 percent in May, and a capacity increase of 4.1 percent. European airlines reached a 15 percent increase in freight volumes for May and a capacity increase of 5.7 percent, while Asia-Pacific airlines’ freight volumes expanded 11.3 percent for the month, compared to the same period a year earlier and capacity increased 6.2 percent.
   Latin American airlines witnessed air cargo demand growth of 6.7 percent in May, compared to the same period in 2016, and capacity increased 7.1 percent over the same period. Middle Eastern carriers’ year-on-year freight volumes increased 10.2 percent for the month. “This was a sharp jump from the 3.1 percent dip in April,” IATA said.
   “The continued growth of air freight demand is consistent with an improvement in world trade,” IATA said. “This, in turn, corresponds with new global export orders remaining close to a six-year high in May.”
   The association warned, however, there are already “signs that the cyclical growth period may have peaked.”
   According to IATA, the global inventory-to-sales ratio has begun to rise, which “indicates that the period when companies look to re-stock inventories quickly, which often gives air cargo a boost, has ended.”
   IATA remains “optimistic” that demand for air cargo will continue to grow at a rate of 8 percent during the third quarter of 2017.