IATA's report for June indicated an overall improvement in global trade for the month, with year-over-year demand growth of 11 percent. New global export orders are near a six-year high, IATA said, with support from a stronger global economy. The June report from WorldACD, released in late July, showed comparable global growth of 10.5 percent.
“Demand is growing at a faster pace than at any time since the global financial crisis,” said IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. “That’s great news after many years of stagnation. And, even more importantly, the industry is taking advantage of this momentum to accelerate much-needed process modernization and improve the value it provides to its many customers.”
Two-thirds of the global demand growth during the first half of the year came from carriers in Europe and Asia, with Europe posting a y-o-y demand increase of 14.3 percent for June, as a weak euro is strengthening the European freight market and incentivizing exports. Freight volumes for Asia grew 10.1 percent, y-o-y, for June, with most of the growth coming from international routes within Asia and between Asia and Europe.
Latin America experienced its second consecutive month of y-o-y demand growth in June after posting declines during most months for the past two-and-a-half years. Latin American airfreight demand rose by 9.8 percent, y-o-y in June. However, IATA attributed most of that increase to volatility in 2016 rather than sustained growth in 2017 as economic and political conditions in Brazil particularly remain weak.
