Air cargo carriers still struggle in Asia Pacific

Preliminary traffic figures for the month of November released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) indicate that air cargo markets remained weak.

“Air cargo demand narrowed to a 1.8 percent increase for the first eleven months of the year, dampened by the general slowdown in global trade,” said Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General.

Conversely, passenger markets continued to record strong growth in November. For the eleven month period of January to November 2015, Asian airlines carried a total of 252 million international passengers, representing growth of 8.1 percent.

“Demand remained strong in spite of the overall weakness in Asian currencies, and the moderation in emerging market economies,” noted Herdman.

Less encouragingly, the air cargo business is suffering from the effects of market weakness in major trading economies, signs of inventory overhang and excess capacity.

“Overall, the region’s airlines are focused on responding appropriately to evolving patterns of market demand, while making efforts to increase operational efficiency and boost profitability,” Herdman added.

As reported here last month, some supply chain managers were looking to air cargo for more spot-market pricing alternatives during the Holiday Season. That trend was not apparently strong enough to counter the prolonged decline in overall volumes.