Transportation

November Air Cargo Volume Drops for First Time in More Than 2 Years

Paul Ausick

Published: December 31, 2015 8:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:34 pm

Air cargo volume declined by 0.9% year-over-year in November, the first time monthly volume has fallen in two and a half years, according to WorldACD Market Data. For the three-month period from September through November, volume grew by just 1% year over year, well short of the 2.5% growth rate for 2015 through August.

November volume was weaker than October for the first time in four years.

The news is not all bad for freight carriers however. China and Hong Kong, which together account for nearly 30% of worldwide cargo revenues, have managed to reverse a trend of lower volumes compared with 2014 over the past few months. Yields, equal to the average price paid by customers to transport one ton a distance of one mile, from Asia Pacific to Europe rose by 17% and to North America yields rose by 10% between August and November.

Perishables and pharmaceutical volumes posted volume growth over the three-month period to November of 5% and 10.5%, respectively. The less-good news is that yields on pharmaceuticals fell 5% since September when measured in dollar terms.

Volume from North America shrank by 3% year over year in the period from September to November, while carriers from Africa and the Middle East/South Asia (MESA) region say growth of 2% and 7%, respectively.