WorldACD reported a robust first half of 2014 for air cargo.
June maintained this year’s average with its 4.8 percent volume growth year over year. For the first time in 2.5 years, WorldACD registered a month with a year-over-year increase in the worldwide USD-yield (+0.9 percent).
The WorldACD Index inched further upwards for the 12th consecutive month. Once again, volumes increased most from Asia Pacific (+9.6 percent). Europe was the weakest area in June (outgoing volumes down by 1.5 percent year over year), but Europe had a 5.2 percent yield growth in USD.
Business between Asia Pacific and North America got a boost in June, with a 17 percent volume increase in both directions, according to WorldACD. The biggest USD-revenue gains in the month went to airlines from the Middle East and Asia Pacific. On average, they added 9.7 percent compared to a year ago. Middle Eastern airlines achieved this through a mixture of volume and yield growth, while Asia Pacific airlines on average owed their revenue growth to volume increase.
Since January 2011, yields varied between USD 2.55 (April 2011) and USD 2.11 (July 2013). But of the 12 region-to-region markets monitored by WorldACD, six showed a yield for January 2014 close to, or higher than, the yield for January 2008.
Comparing the first half of 2011 with the first half of 2014, WorldACD reported:
- The worldwide drop in yields was 10 percent
- Airlines from the Middle East lost 6 percent in yield, but airlines from Asia Pacific lost 14 percent
- The only product category with a growing yield was pharma (+3.75 percent)
- Yields of the world’s top 20 forwarders dropped by almost 2 percentage points more than the yields of other forwarders did.