Asia Pacific carriers have seen improvements in September with freight tonne kilometres (FTK) rising 5.3 per cent, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says.
The association says air cargo has improved despite weak trading conditions, with FTKs rising to 5.6 billion. Capacity in available FTK (AFTK) also rose though not as quickly, by 4.4 per cent to 8.8 billion, with load factors increasing 0.5 percentage points to 63 per cent.
AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman says: “Air cargo volumes aggregated for the first nine months of the year match those of the same period last year, reflecting the modest upswing in demand in recent months, bolstered by higher shipments of electronics designated for product launches.”
After a weak start to the year, cargo is picking up again with FTKs at 48 billion, the same as they were for the first nine months of 2015. Capacity in AFTK has grown by 3.3 per cent pushing load factors down two percentage points to 61.2 per cent.
Herdman says: “The lack of impetus for a revival in global trade activity may present some headwinds to sustained growth in air cargo markets.”
