Iata sees solid start for airfreight in 2016
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) released data for global airfreight markets in January showing a rise in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) of 2.7% compared to January 2015. This continues the improving trend witnessed toward the end of 2015, and is the fastest rate of growth since April 2015.
The freight load factor (FLF) fell by 1.8 percentage points, however, indicating that yields are likely to come under further pressure. Total FTKs in January surpassed the previous all-time peak reached in February 2015. All regions except the smallest markets of Africa (-1.4%) and Latin America (-3.6%) expanded in January (Asia-Pacific 1.3%, Europe and North America 2.5%, Middle East 8.8%), but all regions reported declines in the FLF.
Despite this good start, the underlying weak trade performance makes it unlikely that growth will accelerate significantly in the coming months.