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| Vol. 14 No. 54 | Wednesday
July 1, 2015 |
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| Numbers Tracking
Up
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 Asian and Middle Eastern carriers and airports are leading global volume growth, although capacity additions are hindering yield and rates gains. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines revealed member airlines saw a year-on-year increase of 2.9 percent in freight ton kilometer (FTK) terms in May, although this was offset by a 5.1 percent increase in offered capacity. AAPA said that although expansion vis-à-vis 2014 volumes was slowing, 2015 had so far been positive for carriers. Cathay Pacific, for example, saw a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase in cargo and mail uplift in May, with tonnage over the first five months up 9.6 percent.  “International
air cargo markets recorded further growth in May, albeit at a moderate pace
compared to the preceding months when demand was boosted by congestion in
U.S. West Coast maritime ports,” said Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director
General. “Overall, Asian airlines registered a 6.3 percent increase
in international air freight demand for the first five months of the year."IATA also verifies the strong start to the year for Asian carriers, with its latest analysis concluding that Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern carriers saw demand growth of 4.5 percent and 14.1 percent in April, respectively. The performance of Asia Pacific and Middle East airports so far in 2015 has been equally strong, with growth of 9.3 percent recorded in April in the former, and 8 percent in the latter. Within those figures there has also been some standout performers with Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +19.9 percent, Incheon (ICN) +18.9 percent, Mumbai (BOM) +20.7 percent, and Doha (DOH) and Abu Dhabi (AUH)—both 15 percent—leading the way. Early airport figures for May suggest the strength of the market remains robust, although there are also signs of slowdown in growth in some areas. After its record-breaking 2014, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has seen only low, single figure growth so far this year, and year-on-year expansion was marginally negative last month due to slowing exports. Yet Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Ltd saw 10.7 percent growth in May compared to a year earlier on the back of healthy export demand. This followed the operator’s strongest ever quarter in January-March and record throughput in 2014.  “Import
cargo volumes increased by 14.30 percent year-on-year to a total figure
of 262,189 tonnes during the first five months of this year,” the
operator told FlyingTypers this week. “International imports rose by 14.64 percent, domestic imports increased by 10.49 percent, and export cargo volumes grew by 9.88 percent to a figure of 369,978 tons.”"We were able to continue the strong performance we achieved in 2014 throughout the first half of this year. With respect to this trend, I expect a positive development for the coming months as well,” added Lutz Grzegorz, VP of PACTL. But although volumes have started strongly in 2015, the influx of new capacity and continued sluggish growth into Europe allied to slowing demand on the Transpacific, where ports have now returned to normal operations after disruptive union action, has impacted pricing. Drewry’s East-West Air Freight Price Index fell to $3.22 per kg in May, down from a 12-month high of $3.92 per kg in November 2014. Indeed, the index, a weighted average of all-in air freight "buy rates" paid by forwarders to airlines for standard deferred airport-to-airport air freight services on 21 major East-West routes for cargoes above 1,000 kgs, has consistently declined month-on-month since November. Herdman remains cautiously upbeat about the market in the coming months. “The demand environment for air cargo markets remains positive, although the pace of expansion appears to be moderating,” he concluded. Sky King |
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