[280718.EN.AIR] FedEx Leads The Pack While Qatar Edges Up And Cathay Slips to 5th

AMERICA's FedEx strengthened its standing as the world's top express delivery service last year, according to IATA's ranking, with Emirates still holding its lead in the pure cargo segment, though Qatar Airways rapidly closed the gap.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific came in fifth as it saw traffic increase 7.8 per cent to 10.7 billion freight tonne kilometres (FTK) yet dropped down the list due to the rapid expansion of Qatar Airways.

By far most air carriers in the top 25 posted increases in volumes last year - up 7.2 per cent year on year to 166.5 billion scheduled FTK as the sector enjoyed a boom in demand, according to IATA's World Air Transport Statistics.

FedEx's full year results included a boost in overall performance because of the US$4.9 billion acquisition of TNT Express in 2016, adding to the 7.2 per cent increase in cargo traffic to 16.8 billion FTKs.

Emirates, which recorded a 3.6 per cent year-on-year increase in demand to 12.7 billion FTK came in second. But growth was one of the lowest of the top 25, a reflection of a slowdown in arrival of new aircraft at the airline and a slowdown in demand growth for Middle East carriers, reported London's Air Cargo News.

"Having not seen the strong upward demand of other regions in the first half of 2017, Middle-Eastern carriers' share of global demand dropped for the first time in 18 years," IATA said.

Third place went to Atlanta's United Parcel Service (UPS), which enjoyed a six per cent year-on-year increase in traffic in 2017 to 11.9 billion FTK. UPS said its domestic business had strong growth in next-day air shipments while its international segment saw export shipments surge by 16 per cent per day.

Qatar Airways posted the third highest growth rate of any airline. The rapidly expanding Middle East carrier saw cargo traffic in 2017 increase by 19.3 per cent year on year to 11 billion FTK. This follows growth of 20.4 per cent in 2016 and 27.7 per cent in 2015.

The fastest growing cargo carrier in 2017 was Turkish Airlines, which saw traffic increase by 29.9 per cent to 4.7 billion FTK.

Lufthansa was the only airline to report a decline in cargo traffic in 2017, as it registered a 0.9 per cent drop off in demand to 7.4 billion FTK.

While Lufthansa on its own may have seen a decline in cargo volumes during the year, it represents 68 per cent of the overall airline group's cargo volumes and when other divisions are included, the Lufthansa group saw traffic increase by 5.8 per cent in 2017.

Source : HKSG.