Asia-Pacific air freight traffic down 3.1% in Sept

[SINGAPORE] Asia-Pacific air freight carriers - which account for nearly 40 per cent of the global cargo market - continue to be dogged by weak cargo demand, with traffic slipping 3.1 per cent year-on-year for the region last month.

Globally, traffic (in freight tonne kilometres) edged up by 0.5 per cent, with strong growth from the Middle Eastern and Latin American cargo carriers, while the European freight players turned in marginal growth, according to figures released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata). Capacity grew at a faster 3.3 per cent, resulting in a load factor of 45.1 per cent.

From a broader perspective, global cargo growth showed signs of stabilising last month, with the market on an upward trend since April that has sent overall air cargo volumes to a 25-month high.