I noted that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global air freight markets for January 2018 and they make very encouraging reading.

Demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), rose 8% in January compared with the same time last year. This also showed an increase from the 5.8% annual growth recorded for December 2017.

These increases reflect the fact that global demand for air fright is extremely buoyant at present. Meeting this demand in turn leads to longer supply chain delivery times. As companies seek faster delivery times to make up for longer production times, demand for air cargo strengthens accordingly.

Alexandre de Juniac is the Director General and CEO of IATA. The British International Freight Association (BIFA) quoted him on their website as saying “with 8% growth in January it has been a solid start for air cargo. That follows an exceptional year in which demand grew by 9%. We expect demand for air cargo to taper to a more normal 4.5% growth rate for 2018.”

All regions reported an increase in demand in January. The best performing regions were Europe, recording a 10.5% increase and Africa, where the increase was a very impressive 12.9% compared to the same month last year.