Despite the fact that worldwide freight volumes fell by 22.1% in February compared to the same period last year, according to IATA, a recently released index for March showed a slight and unexpected improvement – while remaining in negative territory.
Middle East figures were once again by far the most positive globally, with a -4.8% drop in February, up from -6.1% in January and -9.2% in December. If the trend continues, IATA results will hopefully show regional freight growth in either March or April.
IATA cited the recently released Eurozone Purchase Managers Indices – a useful forward-looking indicator - as showing a slight upswing in March.
In other regions, the news was universally glum. The largest market, Asia Pacific, saw demand drop by 24.7% (against -28.1% in January), and IATA stated that Japanese exports had almost halved since their February 2008 levels.
Europe was down by 23.1% (23% in January), while North America dropped by 21.8% (19.3% last month). Africa saw the worst declines, at -30.7% (from -19.8% in January and Latin American demand fell to 22.8%.
On the passenger side, the Middle East saw a surprising positive result, with demand increasing by 0.4%. Global passenger demand dropped to -10.1% against the same month last year.
“Freight traffic, which began its decline in June 2008 before passenger markets were hit, has now had three consecutive months in the -22% to -23% range. We may have found a bottom to the freight decline, but the magnitude of the drop means that it will take time to recover,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO.
Site Map
FEATURED COMMENT
Please click here to comment on this article