Air cargo saw “modest growth” of 4.1 per cent in June 2016 while overall demand remains subdued, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says.

Volumes in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) were up 4.1 per cent in June to 5.4 billion while capacity in freight available tonne kilometres (FATK) increased by 3.6 per cent to 8.6 billion. The load factor in June increased by 0.3 percentage points to 63.6 per cent.

AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman says: “International air cargo demand remained subdued, registering a 2.5% decline for the first half of the year, although the uptick in the June figures is mildly encouraging.”

Between January and June 2016, FTK was down 2.5 per cent to 31.2 billion with FATK up 2.3 per cent to 51.2 billion and the load factor fell three percentage points to 61.1 per cent.

Looking ahead, Herdman says: “The outlook for air cargo remains a concern, reflecting generally weak trading conditions in the global economy.”