Pre-Christmas cargo rush disappoints

While the growth in passenger numbers looks set to continue at peak levels, air cargo growth is less encouraging. “Although, from a statistical perspective growth rates will inevitably slow further – not least as the comparisons become more difficult – the reality is that in volume terms revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) are at new monthly peaks,” reported the global airline body, the International Air Transport Association (Iata). Freight markets, though, have not been quite so positive. The traditional pattern of freight traffic – with peaks in March and October – was broken, with an intermediate peak in May. The records show that volumes and load factors remained down on that May peak, and the pre-Christmas cargo rush was rather poor this year. But the latter part of the year has looked better, with Iata highlighting the “usual” pick-up in volumes between September and October.