Cargo continues to struggle in Asia Pacific with freight tonne kilometres (FTK) declining by 0.7 per cent in May, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says.

Volumes in FTKs were down by 0.7 per cent to 5.36 billion from 5.4 billion in 2015, with cargo continuing to struggle compared to passengers, which saw revenue passenger kilometres increase by 4.5 per cent to 84.58 billion. The May decline followed a minor increase in April of 0.1 per cent to 5.4 billion FTKs.

Year-to-date (YTD) cargo volumes are down 3.9 per cent to 25.78 billion from 26.83 billion in January to May 2015, with the region having suffered weak months in February and March.

AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman says: “International air cargo demand remained soft, with year-to-date demand registering a 3.9% decline compared to the same period a year ago, reflecting the weak trading conditions in the global economy.”

Capacity in available FTK (AFTK) increased by two per cent in May to 8.75 billion and by 2.2 per cent YTD to 42.65 billion. The load factor fell by 1.6 percentage points to 61.3 per cent in May and by 3.9 percentage points YTD to 60.4 per cent.