GENEVA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Global air freight demand crept up 0.1 percent in March against the year before and while this beat February's 4.9 percent contraction, demand is 1.5 percent down in the past year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Tuesday.
Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers, registered a 3.1 percent rise year-on-year in March 2019, but capacity growth has now outstripped demand growth for 11 out of the last 12 months, said IATA.
Despite edging into positive territory in March, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO said, "The headwinds from weakening global trade, growing trade tensions and shrinking order books have not gone away."
IATA noted that demand for air cargo continues to face significant headwinds and global trade volumes have fallen by 1 percent over the past year.
It said global economic activity and consumer confidence continue to weaken despite a relatively upbeat industry confidence outlook with only 13 percent of respondents from IATA's Business Confidence Survey expecting a decrease in freight volumes in 2019 compared to 2018.
All regions reported year-on-year demand growth in March, except the Asia-Pacific which contracted.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for air freight shrink by 3.4 percent in March, compared to the same period in 2018.
This was a significant improvement from the 12.0 percent decline in growth from the previous month, said IATA.
North American airlines saw demand increase by 0.4 percent in March, compared to the same period a year earlier.
IATA said new export orders are rising which would support air cargo growth.
European airlines posted a 3.6 percent increase in freight demand in March compared to the same period a year earlier.
Given weaker manufacturing conditions for exporters in Germany, and uncertainty over Brexit, the process for Britain to leave the European Union, March's performance was positive, said IATA.
African carriers posted the fastest growth of any region in March 2019, with an increase in demand of 6.0 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier.
