IATA: Global Air Freight data released

L’Associació Internacional del Transport Aeri (IATA) va publicar dades dels mercats mundials de mercaderies aèries el setembre de 2016, mostrant que la demanda, mesurada en tones de mercaderies quilòmetres (FTK), va augmentar un 6.1% interanual. Aquest va ser el ritme de creixement més ràpid des de la interrupció causada per la vaga de ports de la costa oest dels Estats Units al febrer de 2015.

La capacitat de càrrega, mesurada en tones de mercaderies disponibles en quilòmetres (AFTK), va augmentar un 4.7% en el mateix període. Els factors de càrrega es van mantenir històricament baixos, mantenint els rendiments sota pressió.

L'evolució positiva de setembre va coincidir amb un gir aparent de les noves comandes d'exportació dels darrers mesos. Alguns factors únics també poden haver contribuït, com la substitució ràpida dels dispositius Samsung Galaxy Note 7 durant el mes, així com els primers impactes del col·lapse de la línia marítima de Hanjin a finals d'agost.

“Demand for air cargo strengthened in September. Although with growth in world trade virtually at a standstill, the air cargo sector still faces some major hurdles. We did have some encouraging news. The conclusion of the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement is good news for the economies involved and for air cargo. Growth is the way to overcome the world’s current economic challenges. The EU-Canada agreement is a welcome respite from the current protectionist rhetoric and positive results should soon be evident. Governments everywhere should take note and move in the same direction,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

¹% dels FTK de la indústria el 2015 ² Canvi interanual del factor de càrrega ³Nivell de factor de càrrega 

Actuació regional

Airlines in all regions except Latin America reported an increase in year-on-year demand in September. However results continued to vary considerably.

• Línies aèries d'Àsia-Pacífic saw freight volumes increase by 5.5% in September 2016 compared to the same period last year. Capacity in the region expanded 3.4%.The positive Asia-Pacific performance corresponds with signs of an increase in export orders in China and Japan over the last few months. Seasonally-adjusted freight results for Asia-Pacific carriers are now trending upwards.
• Línies aèries europees experienced a 12.6% increase in freight volumes in September 2016. Capacity increased 6.4%. The strong European performance corresponds with an increase in reported new export orders in Germany over the last few months.
• Transportistes nord-americans saw freight volumes expand 4.5% in September 2016 year-on-year, as capacity increased 2.6%. International freight volumes grew by 6.2% – their fastest pace since the US seaports disruption boosted demand in February 2015. However, in seasonally-adjusted terms volumes are still just below the level seen in January 2015. The strength of the US dollar continues to keep the US export market under pressure.
• Operadors de l'Orient Mitjà saw demand growth slow for the third consecutive month to 1.2% year-on-year in September 2016 – the slowest pace since July 2009. Capacity increased by 6.2%. Seasonally-adjusted freight growth, which had been trending upwards until the past year or so year, has now halted. This turnaround in performance is partly due to weaker conditions in the Middle East-to-Asia and Middle East-to-North America markets.  





• Línies aèries llatinoamericanes reported a decline in demand of 4.5% and a drop in capacity of 4.7% in September 2016, compared to the same period in 2015. The ‘within South America’ market has been the weakest performing market so far this year with volumes contracting 14% year-on-year in August, the most recent month for which route specific data are available. The comparative strength of the US economy has helped boost volumes between North and South America with US imports by air from Colombia and Brazil increasing by 5% and 13% year-on-year respectively.
• Transportistes africans saw freight demand increase by 12.7% in September 2016 compared to the same month last year – the fastest rate in nearly two years. Capacity surged year-on-year by 34% on the back of long-haul expansion in particular by Ethiopian Airlines and North African carriers.

View September freight results (Pdf)