IATA: Airfreight volumes rise 6.9% in January

However, volumes carried by Latin American airlines fell 4.1 percent year-over-year in January, as the region continues to be blighted by weak economic and political conditions.    Global airfreight volumes soared 6.9 percent year-over-year in January, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported Monday.
   Asia Pacific airlines saw volumes for the month rise 6 percent from January 2016. “The increase in demand is captured in the positive outlook from business surveys in the region,” IATA said. “China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a 21-month high, Japan’s PMI to a 36-month high, while Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam also reported increases in new export orders.”
   Volumes carried by European airlines rose 8.7 percent year-over-year in January, fueled by an increase in reported new export orders, particularly in Germany over the last few months, and because of the ongoing weakness in the Eurozone.
   North American airfreight carriers experienced a 6.1 percent year-over-year increase in volumes in January. “The strength of the U.S. dollar continued to pump up the inbound market but kept the export market under pressure,” IATA said.
   Volumes transported by Middle Eastern airlines increased 8.4 percent year-over-year in January. “Despite this, growth has eased from the double-digit rates which were the norm over the past ten years,” IATA said. “This corresponds with a slowdown in network expansion by the region’s major carriers.”
   Meanwhile, African airlines recorded a 24.3 percent year-over-year increase in volumes in January, fueled by very strong growth on trade lanes to and from Asia.
   Despite growth in the other regions, volumes carried by Latin American airlines fell 4.1 percent year-over-year in January, as the region continues to be blighted by weak economic and political conditions.
   Overall, the Asia-Pacific makes up 37.5 percent of the total freight traffic market share, based on freight ton kilometers, followed by Europe at 23.5 percent, North America at 20.7 percent, the Middle East at 13.9 percent, Latin America at 2.8 percent and Africa at 1.6 percent.