LATAM Airlines Group has seen cargo revenue slump by 22.3 per cent in the second quarter due to strike action in Chile, weak imports from North America and Europe, and the Brazilian economy struggling.

Cargo revenue fell to $260 million in the second quarter and total operating revenue was down 12.5 per cent to $2.1 billion. The airline group as a whole saw losses increase by 85.2 per cent to $92 million.

LATAM says: “During the quarter, cargo traffic was affected by a strike in Chile, which negatively impacted fresh salmon exports. Additionally, imports from North America and Europe continue to show weakness, with Brazil still the most affected market, both internationally and domestically.”

In the first half of 2016, cargo revenue fell by 21.7 per cent to $535.9 million though during the period the airline group made a profit of $10.3 million compared to a loss of $89.6 million in 2015.

In the second quarter, revenue tonne kilometres fell by 13.3 per cent to 797 million and capacity in available tonne kilometres were cut by 6.1 per cent to 1.6 billion, but the load factor was still down by four percentage points to 48.8 per cent.