Air cargo demand fell further in May as export activity continued to slow in the face of challenging business conditions, according to figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
The association said the “wider imposition” of trade tariffs dampened demand and affected global supply chain leading to decline in new export orders and the region’s airline registered a 6.5 per cent fall in air cargo demand measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) last month.
Combined with a marginal 0.3 per cent increase in offered freight capacity, the average international freight load factor fell by 4.3 per cent to 59 per cent for the month.
In the first five months of the year, FTKs were down 6.2 per cent while offered freight capacity was up 1.2 per cent and the freight load factor was down 4.6 percentage points to 58 per cent.
AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman said in May air cargo demand was weak as a result of the slowdown in the manufacturing sector and deteriorating business confidence, undermined by ongoing trade disputes.
