Lufthansa Cargo eyes turnaround for air freight market this year

[FRANKFURT] Lufthansa Cargo is expecting a turnaround for the air freight market this year, the division's chief executive said, as the sector benefits from a recovery in global economies and rising trends such as e-commerce.

"It's going very well this year," Peter Gerber, CEO of the German aviation group's air freight arm, said at an event in Frankfurt late on Tuesday, adding that other companies in the sector were benefiting.

The International Air Transport Association last month upgraded its forecasts for air freight, saying it now expected demand to rise by 7.5 per cent in 2017, compared with a previous forecast for an increase of 3.5 per cent and against growth of 3.6 per cent in 2016.

Iata attributed the growth to the start of a global economic upturn, with companies seeking to restock inventories quickly to meet demand, plus said e-commerce and shipping of time-sensitive pharmaceuticals products were supporting growth.

Lufthansa Cargo last year swung to an adjusted operating loss of 50 million euros (S$78.504 million) as the market suffered from excess capacity. This year, it has predicted losses should shrink slightly.

Mr Gerber did not give further details of expected profit on Tuesday. The Lufthansa group is due to report second-quarter results on Aug 2.

REUTERS