January 11 - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global airfreight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTK), rose 6.8 percent in November 2016 compared to the previous year.
This was a slight slowdown from the 8.4 percent annual growth recorded in October 2016 - which was a 20-month high - but was still more than 2.5 times the average annual monthly growth rate of 2.6 percent over the past decade.
Growth in freight capacity, measured in available FTK, slowed to 4.4 percent in November.
IATA claims that the growth coincides with an apparent turnaround in new export orders.
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director general and ceo, said: "Air cargo enjoyed a strong peak season in November. And there are encouraging signs that this growth will continue into 2017, particularly with the shipment of high-value consumer electronics and their component parts."
Although, he adds: "But the trend in world trade is still stagnant. So it remains critically important for the air cargo industry to continue to improve its value offering by implementing modern customer-centric processes."
