Global air freight demand rose 8% year-on-year in January

In "a solid start to 2018 for air cargo", IATA reported that global volume in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) rose 8% when compared to January last year.

Freight capacity in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs) rose 4.2%.

Regionally, there was growth in air freight volume across the board. Asia Pacific airlines led with an increase of 12.9% year-on-year, followed by Europe with 10.5%, Latin America with 8%, Asia Pacific with 7.7%, North America with 7.5%, and the Middle East with 4.4%.

IATA remarked that 2017 was "an exceptional year in which demand grew by 9%"—after slow growth in the years preceding.

"We expect demand for air cargo to taper to a more normal 4.5% growth rate for 2018,” said Alexandre de Juniac, CEO and Director General of IATA. “But there are potential headwinds. If President Trump follows through on his promise to impose sanctions on aluminum and steel imports, there is a very real risk of a trade war. Nobody wins when protectionist measures escalate."

(Source: IATA)