With the topic of yields dominating any discussion about the current business environment, WorldACD has clearly demonstrated the dismal state of affairs through a comparison of USD-yields between June 2008 and June 2015, with not one single market showing a yield increase over that period.
The good news first: North America to Asia Pacific saw the smallest yield decline at only -9 per cent. This contrasts with all of the other markets that saw decreases ranging from -22 per cent (Middle East & South Asia (MESA) to Europe) to -41 per cent (Asia Pacific to Europe).
WorldACD went on to note that global air cargo developments in June did not differ much from those in May. Year-on-year (YoY) volume growth was slightly higher this time though, up 2.6 per cent. But, returning to the yield issue, overall yield (in USD) fell again by two per cent month-on-month while yield excluding charges stood its ground, and Africa (+5 per cent) and the MESA (+6.4 per cent) were again among the best performing origins volume-wise.
What changed markedly was the performance of the origin Europe, with YoY volume growth of +5.9 per cent (-1.2 per cent in May). The origin Asia Pacific recorded a YoY volume growth of only +0.4 per cent (+1.7 per cent in May). Incoming air cargo increased most in the regions MESA (+9.8 per cent YoY) and North America (+6.9 per cent YoY).
Looking at the half year so far, worldwide revenue (in USD) was down by 9.3 per cent versus H1 2014. Among the largest 100 city pairs in WorldACD’s database, those outside the transpacific market virtually all suffered a considerable revenue loss YoY. Particularly the main orgin/destinations between Asia Pacific and Europe suffered heavily, with revenue losses varying between 13 and 47 per cent of the previous year’s revenues, due more to yield deterioration than to volume loss.
Of the top-50 traffic streams outside the transpacific market, only three recorded a positive revenue development: Nairobi-Amsterdam, Chicago-London and Mumbai-London. Of the absolute volume growth worldwide, 37.5 per cent came from pharmaceuticals and perishable only.
The top-20 forwarders, as a group grew less in volume than all other forwarders taken together, whilst half of their group suffered a yield deterioration larger than the worldwide average.
Looking at a somewhat longer period, WorldACD said the demand driving air cargo volumes differs considerably from one product category to another, with the following trends evident between H1 2012 and H1 2015: The growth in perishables was largest to MESA (+59 per cent) and Asia Pacific (+35 per cent).
Perishables transport to Europe and North America lagged behind with growth figures of around 15 per cent. In pharmaceuticals, again Asia Pacific (+74 per cent) and MESA (+66 per cent) absorbed most of the growth. Looking at the total demand, the destinations MESA and North America both grew with 17 per cent, while Europe (+3 per cent) and Latin America (-7 per cent),” clearly lost appetite,” WorldACD said.
