Freight tonne kilometres (FTK) in January rose by 2.7 per cent but load factors continue to fall suggesting yields will come under further pressure, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association says the January result continues the growth seen towards the end of 2015 and is the fastest it has been since last April. Though FTKs increased by 2.7 per cent, available FTKs were up by seven per cent, causing the load factor to fall by 1.8 percentage points to 41.3 per cent.
IATA director general and chief executive officer, Tony Tyler says: “It is good news that volumes are growing, but yields and revenues are still under tremendous pressure. Air cargo plays a vital role in our globalised and fast paced world in which trade is the foundation for long-term prosperity.”
All regions of the world saw FTK growth in January except Africa and Latin America, but they all saw load factors falling.
Asia Pacific saw FTK growth of 1.3 per cent but the load factor fell by 2.3 percentage points to 49.8 per cent. European FTKs grew by 2.5 per cent but load factors dropped by 1.5 percentage points to 41.6 per cent. North America grew by 2.5 per cent but the load factor fell by 1.4 percentage points to 34.6 per cent.
The Middle East saw the largest growth in FTK at 8.8 per cent and the smallest drop in load factors, down 0.3 percentage points to 39.2 per cent. Latin America saw FTK fall by 3.6 per cent and the load factor was down by 2.7 percentage points to 32.9 per cent. African FTKs dropped by 1.4 per cent with the worst load factors, down 4.8 percentage points to 22.6 per cent.
