KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): Global air freight demand rose 5.4% year-on-year in October 2014 and out-stripped capacity which grew by 4.4% y-o-y, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Demand is measured in air freight tonne kilometres.

In a statement Dec 3, the IATA said compared to September, demand grew by 0.7% bringing freight volumes to a new record monthly high.

It said the good results reflected the improvements in world trade and business activity which had been evident since the summer.

The IATA said world trade was growing steadily, supporting increased air cargo shipments.

It said regional differentiation in performance, however, was very apparent.

“Carriers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific saw demand grow faster than the global trend, while North America, Europe and Latin America grew more slowly.

“More significantly, however, carriers in all regions except for Europe improved on their year-to-date performance,” it said.  

The IATA said cargo demand for European carriers grew by a weak 1.4% compared to the previous October, reflecting economic uncertainty and the impact of sanctions as a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

IATA director general and CEO Tony Tyler said the industry was now back to levels of demand not seen since the 2010 post-recession bounce-back.

“But the industry is still in the hot seat and under pressure to improve its value offering. Customer expectations have evolved dramatically. Other modes of cargo have improved their competitiveness.

“Shippers expect the efficiency of electronic processes that they experience in almost every other sector. And when shipping specialty products—such as those requiring cold chain control—they expect quality from end-to-end. The industry is investing to build its future by meeting these expectations,” he said.