Air cargo markets in the second quarter of this year appear to be back down to levels at the end of 2014 after a, “very volatile,” first quarter, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports.
IATA’s analysis is in its latest quarterly market report, the Cargo Chartbook, which it published on Thursday, 2 July. The association is optimistic there will be growth during the rest of this year, which will be driven by upturns in the economic cycle and world trade, that is expected to grow by 3.7 per cent in 2015.
However, IATA is remaining cautious: “Weakness in emerging markets and scope for potential spill over from the slowing of the Chinese economy introduce downside risks for the outlook in 2015.”
IATA also forecasts there will be growth in advanced economies this year and says air freighted commodities leave room for cautious optimism later on in 2015.
The association explains that freight tonne kilometres (FTK) have stopped growing, partly due to the build-up in inventories. “A build-up in inventories has halted the underlying growth in air cargo demand so far this year and will likely continue to adversely impact airfreight demand over the short term (two to three months),” IATA notes.
