Trade tensions weigh heavily on air freight business
Iata's data for global air freight markets are showing that demand, measured in ftk, contracted by 3.2% in July 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. This marks the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in freight volumes.
Global trade volumes are 1.4% lower than a year ago, and trade volumes between the USA and China have fallen by 14% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2018. The global purchasing managers’ index does not indicate an uptick. Its tracking of new manufacturing export orders has pointed to falling orders since September 2018.
For the first time since February 2009 all major trading nations reported falling orders. Freight capacity, measured in aftk, rose by 2.6% year-on-year in July. Capacity growth has now outstripped demand growth for the 9th consecutive month. (ah)