The Global trade war is taking a toll on the air cargo business as major market players are reporting a significant decline in traffic decline. The latest research from Transport Intelligence (Ti) has reported significant quarter-on-quarter traffic declines for major players.
The second quarter Logistics Monitor of Ti found that Panalpina, DSV and Ceva have all reported a 5% market volume declines during the period. It suggested that for the major forwarder segment that comprises around 30% of the global air freight market, the decline was as much as 6.8%.
Market leaders in particular DHL’s volumes were down 5.8%, Kuehne + Nagel’s by 8.4% and DB Schenker’s by a major 10.9%. IATA has been blaming the slowdown on the impasse of trade tension
Recently, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General said: “Global trade continues to suffer as trade tensions – particularly between the US and China – deepen. As a result, air cargo markets continue to contract. “Nobody wins a trade war. Borders that are open to trade spread sustained prosperity. That’s what our political leaders must focus on,”
The monthly report of International Air Transport Association (IATA) of July this year showed that the air freight demand, measured in Freight Ton Kilometers (FTK), contracted by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2018. This marks the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in freight volumes
European imports from Asia grew strongly, by 5.8%, which the TI observed as solid European retail sales considering the manufacturing slowdown in Europe, uncertainty about Brexit negotiations and severe growth decline in Turkey.
The North American container imports increased merely 0.4%, and imports from Asia declined by 0.6%, as US tariffs began to take effect.
These also had an impact on backhaul legs on the two largest east-west trades, with exports from Europe to Asia growing strongly, by 7.9%, possibly due to a change of some Chinese import sourcing from Europe instead of from the US as US-China trade restrictions have escalated.
