Demand for air cargo across Asia Pacific remained weak in October due to the slowdown in exports, says the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Air cargo demand measured in freight tonne kilometres declined 5.9% in October 6.2 billion, while capacity in available freight tonne kilometres was up 0.1% to 10.1 billion.

The freight load factor was down 3.9 percentage points to 61.9%.

Between January and October, demand was down 5.6% to 58.6 billion, with capacity up 1.5% to 99.5 billion, with load factors down 4.4 percentage points to 59%.

Andrew Herdman, director general of AAPA says: “Air cargo volumes fell by 5.6%, with trade tensions and geopolitical risks dampening business sentiment and export orders.”