[030216.EN.BIZ] Air Cargo Industry's Top Concern Is Health Of The Global Economy: Survey

THE state of the global economy will be the biggest challenge to the air cargo industry in the year ahead, according to the findings of a survey of freight forwarders, airports, handlers and air cargo carriers.

Conducted by London's Air Cargo News, the survey discovered that another big concern was overcapacity in the market.

The segment enjoying the greatest growth over the coming 12 months will be pharmaceuticals, said the respondents, taking 23.3 per cent of the vote and overtaking consumer goods, with 17.3 per cent, down from 22.4 per cent in the previous year's survey.

Perishables, meanwhile, clinched 16.1 per cent of votes, up from 13.2 per cent, to take third place.

Staying on the subject of growth, the region that respondents believed offered the greatest potential was Asia for the second year running, with 30.7 per cent of the vote, down from the previous year's 33 per cent, reflecting recent slowdowns in the Chinese economy.

The percentage of people who expected Europe to offer the greatest growth potential over the next 12 months was up from 16 per cent for 2015 to 17.7 per cent in 2016. North America saw a similar increase, jumping from 16.5 per cent to 17.1 per cent.

There was also a slight increase in those who expected Africa to have the greatest growth potential, while Australasia remained flat and expectations for South America weakened slightly.

Source : HKSG.