[071217.EN.AIR] Rising E-commerce Demand Supports Growth of Air Cargo Volumes

AIR cargo volumes are forecast to grow by 4.5 per cent in 2018, down from 2017's expected growth of 9.3 per cent.

But anticipated revenue growth of 8.6 per cent in 2018 will be higher than this year, reaching US$59.2 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

IATA predicts yields will increase four per cent in 2018, slower than the five per cent increase this year.

Explaining its predictions for the coming year IATA said: "The cargo business continues to benefit from a strong cyclical upturn in volumes, with some recovery in yields."

The uplift in cargo volumes in 2017 was a result of companies needing to restock inventories quickly to meet unexpectedly strong demand. This resulted in cargo volumes growing at twice the rate of the 4.3 per cent expansion in world trade.

While restocking cycles are usually short-lived, the growth of e-commerce is expected to support continued momentum in the cargo business beyond the rate of expansion of world trade in 2018.

Source : HKSG.