South-east Asia the star exporter replacing ecommerce in air cargo
General cargo imports have emerged as the main driver of air freight demand on the ...
© Abhishek Singh
As carriers deign to cater for any pockets of growth demand that might crop up since the China-US downturns, they are beginning to unveil their winter schedules.
But with no real indication of trends, and World ACD having recently highlighted a two-week global airfreight tonnage retreat, it seems belly-hold capacity might be the safest bet.
Roger Samways, VP of commercial at American Airlines, previously told The Loadstar: “I think [operating only belly capacity] is advantageous in many respects. We don’t carry the same cost of operation as a freighter network, so if you think about our ability to operate profitably our costs are split between the passenger and cargo operation.
“So that actually enables us to operate in some thinner markets from a cargo perspective, but to still operate profitably.”
Yesterday, Etihad Cargo announced an expanded winter schedule that “will significantly increase belly-hold cargo capacity”, including new routes to Hanoi, Hong Kong and Taipei.
By October, the carrier added, it would provide belly-hold capacity on more than 880 passenger flights each week, rising to more than 1,000 by next March, as it progressively launches services to 16 new destinations, including Algiers, Almaty, Baku, Bucharest, Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh, and Tbilisi.
Lufthansa Cargo has announced that it had added some 20% more belly-hold capacity to its winter offering, via its expanded collaboration with ITA Airways.
According to WorldACD, global volumes slipped 2% in week 32 from the previous week, which itself had been 1% below the week prior.
The data analyst noted that only Africa and Central & South America exports showed growth, up 3% and 1% respectively, compared with volume contracted out of North America, down 5%, Middle East & South Asia, down 4%, and Europe, down 3%. Tonnage from Asia Pacific was unchanged.
“Apart from a 1% gain in week 30, global airfreight volume has retreated in three of the past four weeks in low increments,” said WorldACD, adding that as global capacity has been fairly stagnant, rates had only risen marginally.
However, according to its reports, Hong-Kong based Cathay Cargo carried more than 140,000 tonnes of freight last month, 11% more than in July 2024.
Total tonnage carried in the first seven months of this year was some 11% more than the same period in 2024, which Cathay chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said reflected the movement of air cargo ahead of tariff timelines.
Ms Lau said there had also been strong demand from South-east Asia to Hong Kong, driven by machinery and perishables, and noted the perishables market had been buoyed by the seasonal movement of cherries from the US.
But she highlighted that the external environment “remains uncertain”, and said Cathay would “stay vigilant and agile” while serving demand where it arose.
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