Report: FedEx remains top global freight airline

Despite a slight decline in demand, FedEx remains the top cargo airline in the world, according to the latest annual World Air Transport Statistics report from IATA.    FedEx continues to be the busiest freight airline in the world, according to the annual World Air Transport Statistics report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   Measured in “freight tonne km” (FTK) terms, FedEx handled 15.7 billion FTK with a slight 0.6 percent year-over-year decline in demand, according to an Air Cargo News article on the report. Air Cargo News says the decline in freight traffic comes despite a 0.8 percent increase in metric tons flown, “suggesting the express operator saw package and freight shipments increase in weight but flew the volumes over shorter distances.”
   Qatar Airways, AirBridgeCargo (ABC) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) were among the fastest growing freight airlines in 2016, according to the report. Emirates came in second place and saw cargo traffic increase 0.9 percent year-over-year in 2016, reaching 12.3 billion FTK with a 3.4 percent increase in tonnage. Emirates said last year created “challenging” market conditions with fast-changing demand patterns, according to the report.
   The report noted that freight yield per FTK decreased by 8 percent due to strong downward trends across the industry and the weakening of major currencies against the US dollar.
   However, overall the top 25 cargo airlines saw cargo traffic increase by 4.1 percent year-over-year to 155 billion FTK, compared with industry growth of 3.6 percent, nearly double the five-year average of 2 percent, reported Air Cargo News. This traffic increase is due to “a steady increase in manufacturers’ export order books, with pharma and cross-border e-commerce two of the best performing sectors,” said the report.
   In addition, market growth was boosted by fleet expansion, with airlines like Qatar, ABC, ANA, United and China Southern, Lufthansa and Cargolux making aircraft purchases and fleet improvements.