Global airfreight volumes increased by 6.7 percent in July to register one of the strongest monthly gains in over two years, according to Airports Council International (ACI), attributing the expansion to rising business confidence.
All regions except Africa posted gains in airfreight traffic, it said. “The recovery in world trade coupled with improvements in business confidence and domestic demand, particularly in the United States, are largely attributed to the strong recovery.”
Airfreight volumes increased by 8.9 percent across North American airports. The Middle East posted the highest gains of 12 percent year-over-year in freight volumes.
“We are likely to see more moderate growth in freight volumes over the long run, which will be more in line with the overall 12-month growth trend in the realm of 3 percent. Nevertheless, airfreight markets appear to be out of the woods with the recent improvements in global trade and commerce,” said Rafael Echevarne, economics director of ACI World.
From January to July, air transport demand remained strong with accumulated traffic growing by 4.5 percent year-over-year. On a 12-month rolling basis, air cargo tonnage went up 3.1 percent.
Photo: Aero Icarus
