Airfreight volumes fell by 1.3 per cent in November with the weak growth in economies such as China and India unable to offset declines in other major market, according to Airports Council International (ACI) FreightFlash.
In November the only region of the world to see an increase was Africa, rising by 11.9 per cent. Latin America-Caribbean saw the biggest fall in November, down 2.9 per cent, with Brazil posting an “alarming” decline of 17.6 per cent.
ACI says: “Global airfreight markets show volumes in decline by 1.3 per cent in November, thereby removing the optimism from the first half of the year. In the last four months, airfreight plunged into the negative territory twice – in August (-0.4 per cent) and in November (-1.3 per cent).”
The association says growth in China and India was weak, at 2.1 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively. This was not enough to offset declines in other markets, including the US falling 1.9 per cent, Japan dropping 3.7 per cent and Germany declining two per cent.
It says large hubs in Europe had mixed results, with Frankfurt Airport declining by 4.3 per cent and Heathrow Airport dropping by 3.1 per cent. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport saw growth of 3.1 per cent and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was up by 1.3 per cent.
In Asia Pacific, among the top 10 freight hubs, only Beijing Capital International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport saw increases, of 2.8 per cent, 4.7 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. The region as a whole declined by 1.5 per cent in November.
North America was down by two per cent, with New York John F. Kennedy International Airport falling by 10.4 per cent and Chicago O’Hare Airport declining by 8.3 per cent. Memphis International Airport saw a drop of 0.9 per cent while Louisville International Airport dipped by 0.2 per cent.
The Middle East dipped by 0.5 per cent because of Dubai World Central declining by 2.6 per cent, Abu Dhabi International Airport dropping by 7.2 per cent, Sharjah International Airport falling by 10 per cent and Bahrain International Airport was down by 12.8 per cent.
