Earlier in May IATA poured a substantial bucket of cold water on those looking for signs of improving cargo demand.
     IATA did see positives in the U.S. and Europe, but despite Asia-Pacific carriers reporting a 6.9 percent rise in freight liftings in March compared to a year earlier, IATA warned of a looming slowdown in Chinese manufacturing impacting exports from emerging Asian countries.
     Although air freight volumes globally rose 5.9 percent year-on-year in March, IATA argued that much of this growth had in fact occurred in the final quarter of 2013, the assumption being that volume growth in the first quarter had been flat, a trend “consistent with the recent pause in improvements to business confidence and world trade.”

     And IATA went further, predicting, “the continuing slowdown of Chinese GDP growth is likely to ultimately impact trade growth and air freight demand for local carriers.”
     But as throughput figures for April are reported, IATA’s forecasts are looking increasingly out of touch, at least when it comes to Asia.
     Looking at the leading hubs, Hong Kong International Airport handled 362,000 tons of cargo in April, up 6 percent compared to a year earlier. Taiwan's Taipei Taoyuan International Airport saw cargo growth of 7.6 percent year in April as the hub handled 138,902 tons. And Shanghai Pudong saw cargo increase 10.3 percent year-on-year to 264,300 tons, helped by 28.2 percent surge in regional shipments and 9.6 percent increase in international volumes.
     Indeed, HKIA’s throughput, which tends to reflect the strength of Chinese exports, was up 5.6 percent year-on-year to 1.4 million tons over the first four months of 2014. The airport authority said growth in cargo throughput last month was driven mainly by transshipment volumes, up 18 percent from a year ago, and cargo throughput to/from Mainland China.
     "If we combine the traffic figures for March and April to even out the effects of the Easter holidays, we see strong year-on-year increases in passenger volume (6.2 percent), cargo tonnage (8.2 percent) and flight movements (6.6 percent),” said Stanley Hui Hon-chung, (left) Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority.
     Asia’s leading carriers’ April figures also refused to fit the bearish IATA narrative of declining exports from Asia. For example, combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for April revealed an 11 percent increase in cargo and mail uplift compared to a year earlier. “We saw an increase in demand across our freighter network in March and some of that momentum carried through into April. Traffic was also boosted by a pre-Easter rush,” said Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch (right).
     Preliminary figures for April from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines showed that the region’s carriers saw international air cargo demand improve by 4.7 percent year-on-year in April on the back of strong exports from Asia.
     And as the end of May approached, IATA’s own figures revealed that Asia Pacific carriers saw cargo demand increase 5.2 percent year-on-year in April. But in keeping with its bearish outlook, this was written off as a “performance exaggerated by a comparison to a particularly weak April 2013.”
     IATA added: “Ongoing weakness in Chinese manufacturing activity is likely to impact on air freight demand in the coming months, and export volumes in emerging Asian markets have been in continuous decline throughout 2014.”
     Only time will tell if IATA’s skeptical stance on demand and the global economy is proved correct. The evidence from April suggests not.
SkyKing

And proud Mary keeps on burning . . .
      “Transport of temperature-sensitive material demands faultless teamwork and execution, so we invest in a great deal of preparation and training before we certify a new TempControl location," assures Mary Tussing, United Cargo's Manager of Specialty Sales.
      UA added Lima, Peru, and Taipei, Taiwan, to its TempControl network, an enhanced cargo product that now serves 47 destinations worldwide.
      Lima is served via IAH with daily B767 flights.
      "Considering the connections,” Mary said, “every addition to our TempControl network is a significant event for our business and our customers.”
      Across South America UA offers TempControl to Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.
      On the other side of the world in Taipei, TempControl goes via B777 from SFO daily.
      Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, UA offers the service to Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.
      "We are pleased to support Taiwan's growing pharmaceutical industry,” Mary said, adding:
      "It's gratifying to contribute to the lives of the people of Peru, Taiwan, and at our other TempServe destinations by providing safe and swift transport of medicines, vaccines and other health care necessities.”
      Click map to highlight all 47 certified United Cargo TempControl locations. www.unitedcargo.com

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     Aviation Week has issued its top performing airlines (TPA) list for 2014, put together by some smart, east coast aviation moneymen and consultants.
     Notably the group likes Copa, however, there has also been a strong resurgence by major carriers after restructuring or mergers.
     Japan Airlines and Delta Air Lines topped the large-carrier category with JAL rising from the ashes of bankruptcy a few years ago.
     “Delta,” TPA reports, “is reaping the benefits of its 2008 merger deal with Northwest Airlines, which occurred soon after both emerged from bankruptcy protection.
     “The integration work that followed has made this the most successful of any of the large airline mergers in recent years,” TPA said.

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