– There was a very strong 11.7% rise in air freight volumes in February compared to a year ago;

– Much of this is due to the Lunar New Year occurring one month later in 2015 and modal shift owing to congested sea ports;

– The February result is likely to be temporary – growth has been picking up, but key drivers do not support this degree of acceleration;

– The seasonal impact is specific to Asia Pacific carriers, which recorded a 20.8% rise year-on-year;

– Both developments could result in downward pressure on international trade in coming months;

– Air freight is given a strong boost in the weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year;

– But the spike in Asia Pacific FTKs also reflects Japanese manufactures switching to air freight due to US sea port congestion;

– February data show a slight pick-up in global business confidence, which is good news after months of gradual slowdown;

– Moderate acceleration in air freight growth is expected to continue, consistent with improvements in the global economy.

Source and photo: IATA