Mike King | Nov 26, 2011 2:28PM EST
Air freight carried by Asia-Pacific airlines fell at the steepest rate in six months in October, sliding 7.7 percent as a late peak season upturn airlines were watching for fizzled out.
Figures from the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines showed airlines did see a seasonal uptick in what is normally the busiest month of the year, but the 7.1 percent gain from September to October was a meek improvement from a relatively poor September.
Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s largest international air freight airport, reported an 8.2 percent decline in October.
Asia’s carriers also accelerated their capacity pullback, with available freight capacity in October down 2.4 percent in October from the same month a year ago. The average international air cargo load factor for Asia-Pacific carriers fell by 3.9 percentage points year-over-year in October to 66.8 percent.
In the first 10 months of this year cargo traffic was 4.5 percent lower than a year earlier, a trend Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said was mainly the result of lower demand from Western markets.
“Asian exports have been negatively impacted by the pattern of slower economic growth seen in Europe and North America, particularly in the second half of the year,” he said.