Air freight makes a solid start in 2016, says IATA

© photo360 |

It is slightly surprising, but air freight figures in January were higher than was generally anticipated. IATA said yesterday that worldwide cargo traffic had risen 2.7% year on year. Yes, Chinese new year, which was quite early, can distort the January numbers, but so did the west coast ports slowdown last year, an enjoyable boost for those in air freight. International cargo traffic rose 2.1%, giving, said IATA, a “reasonably solid start” to the year. Only Africa and Latin America saw markets shrink. But IATA also notes that yields and revenues are still under “tremendous pressure”. Tony Tyler, director general, called for further removal of barriers to trade.