IATA: Air cargo industry is under pressure

Air cargo operators need to be careful in the coming years, a leading consultant warned at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Kuala Lumpur.
The warning is the second in as many days for the air cargo industry about its future.

"The global cargo industry is under pressure as volumes, load factor and net yield are all in decline," Gert-Jan Jansen, executive director, Cargo Advisory for Seabury Aviation and Aerospace said.

Adding to the industry’s macroeconomic problems, he suggested the conventional view—which says air cargo demand will grow at twice the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP)—is no longer true. This is because the GDP includes services that do not need cargo. 

"It might mirror the forecast global GDP growth of 4%-4.5% in the next five years," he said. 

This problem would be exacerbated by new deliveries and with it higher rates of plane utilization, which kept capacity growth pressure on the sector, he said.

"Deliveries are on the rise and that’s not going to stop anytime soon," he said, adding that there was "a real risk that capacity growth continues to exceed demand growth in the next few years." 

Article Source : ATW Daily News