Cargo volumes at Frankfurt Airport continue to see strong growth passing the 200,000 tonnes mark in November, airport operator Fraport reports.
The German airport, which is the busiest freight hub in Europe, handled 200,827 tonnes of airfreight and airmail in November, year-on-year growth of 4.9 per cent, and has handled 2.04 million tonnes year-to-date, an increase of 4.3 per cent.
Fraport says the month was helped by a favourable distribution of weekdays, with one additional high volume Thursday and one fewer low volume Tuesday, and no pilot strikes unlike in November 2016.
It says traffic to and from the USA made a major contribution to the growth rate in Frankfurt, up 11.7 per cent, helped by a weak euro compared to the US dollar.
Fraport says: “The weak euro compared to the US dollar had a positive effect on the flow of goods to the USA. Latin America benefitted from the increase of tonnage to and from Brazil after the beginning recovery of the Brazilian economy.”
Middle Eastern traffic has also picked up, with growth of 17 per cent, helped by more freighter aircraft connections to and from the region.
It also says direct traffic to and from Africa increased at double-digit rates, and Far Eastern markets including India, Vietnam and Japan have experienced significant growth.
Fraport comments: “The economic situation in November is generally quite positive. Global production is increasing as fast as last seen seven years ago. This speeds up the tempo of international trade. The euro zone industrial sector is experiencing the fastest growth since the dotcom boom more than 17 years ago. German industry is expanding at record speed.”
