IATA: 2017 air freight's strongest year of growth since 2010

© Daniil Peshkov

We all knew it – but it has been confirmed. Air freight saw the best year of growth in seven years, and freight tonne-km (FTK) grew 9% in 2017 – up from 3.6% a year earlier.

And while global trade was good – FTKs grew more than twice as fast as trade volumes in 2017. Forwarders and airlines are already noting strong demand this year, anecdotal evidence supported by IATA figures. “Indicators remain consistent with year-on-year FTK growth remaining at solid rates during H1 2018.”

It added: ”All told, we expect industry-wide FTK growth in 2018 as a whole to come in close to its five-year average pace in the region of 4.5%. After the very strong growth performance seen in 2017 this would be a robust outcome.”

And in a rare alignment of publishing timings, WorldACD also reported its 2017 figures today. The headline news is that air cargo yield reached a level of $2.05 in December 2017, 2.5% above November, and a stunning 23.5% higher than in December 2016. You can read all about it here.