Air cargo volumes continue to grow, and WorldACD says the trend shows not indication of tapering off in June.
Volumes increased 10.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis in June, and yields measured in US dollars were seven per cent higher, which WorldACD says is a bonus for airlines and a development not reported since the recovery of 2010-2011.
The second quarter of 2017 was the best quarter for the industry in almost seven years, with origins Germany and Hong Kong growing most in absolute kilograms.
The markets from Turkey to the Middle East & South Asia, from Belgium to Asia Pacific and from Belgium to North America showed the highest volume increase in percentages: 54 per cent, 50 and 46 respectively.
WorldACD comments: “The month of June also showed how air cargo and geopolitics can be intertwined as the transport of perishables to Qatar increased well beyond the overall growth pattern of this sector of the business.”
“As a matter of fact, June confirmed the trend we reported earlier, which shows general cargo growing faster than most specific product categories; only pharma grows faster than general cargo.”
Yields had been stable in the first quarter, but WorldACD says the second quarter showed a remarkable improvement of 5.4 per cent in US dollars and 8.1 per cent in Euros.
Improvements were particularly visible in markets with an origin in Asia Pacific, and Asia Pacific to North America was up 20 per cent, with Asia Pacific to Europe increasing 15 per cent.