Global air cargo volumes have experienced their first year-on-year fall in over two years, but WorldACD advises against reading too much into the figures.

September was down 0.9 per cent, the first year-on-year decline since March 2016, with fuel costs up 32 per cent compared to a year ago, though airline revenue is growing due to strengthening yields.

WorldACD says September this year had one more Sunday and one less Friday, which would cause air cargo volumes to fall 1-1.5 per cent.

In addition, Hong Kong was down 7.7 per cent and Japan by 4.8 per cent due to typhoons in September.

Chinese exports are continuing to grow, though volumes to the USA were down 1.8 per cent year-on-year, which WorldACD speculates could be the first consequence of President Trump’s trade war.

Global volumes increased 2.8 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018, while yields were up 14.2 per cent in US dollars and 6.6 per cent in Euros.

All special cargo categories also outperformed general cargo, with pharmaceuticals, express and live animals recording double-digit growth.