Air freight growth slows to 22-month low, caution shown on protectionist measures: IATA
Xinhua,May 03, 2018 Adjust font size:
GENEVA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday said global air freight markets showed that demand in March was five percentage points lower than the February result and the slowest pace of growth in 22 months.
IATA said the sharp growth slowdown is principally due to the end of the restocking cycle, during which businesses rapidly increased their inventory to meet unexpectedly high demand and it warned that trade protectionist measures could have an effect later.
A softening of global trade is also evident, said IATA.
"It's normal that growth slows at the end of a restocking cycle. That clearly has happened. Looking ahead we remain optimistic that air cargo demand will grow by 4-5 percent this year, but there are obviously some headwinds," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.
He noted that oil prices have risen strongly, and economic growth is patchy.
"The biggest damage could be political. The implementation of protectionist measures would be an own-goal for all involved -- especially the U.S. and China," de Juniac.
All regions except Latin America reported year-on-year declines in growth in March, with Africa in negative territory.
Asia-Pacific carriers reported fright tonne kilometers growth of just 0.7 percent in March compared to the same period a year ago.
Export orders in Japan and South Korea have fallen in recent months and the region remains particularly exposed to the impact of protectionist measures said IATA.
North American carriers' freight volumes expanded 3.9 percent compared to March 2017. The U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio has risen in 2018, indicating the boost to cargo growth from restocking is over.
European airlines rose 1.0 percent in March compared to the same month last year. A stronger euro currency and a softening of export orders in Germany partially explain the result, but the seasonally-adjusted trend has been slowing in recent months. Enditem