CHENNAI: The domestic and international freight at the Chennai Airport recorded a negative growth this month, compared to last year as international and domestic air freight have fallen by 15.3 per cent, according to data accessed from the Airport Authority of India.
Interestingly, Chennai is not the only airport where domestic and international freight have recorded negative growth. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 290 airlines comprising 82 per cent of global air traffic, the pinch is being felt across the globe.
The fall in freight traffic is attributed to weak global trade and the intensifying trade dispute between the US and China, according to the IATA.
Interestingly, all major Indian airports including Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi have recorded negative growth in freight handled from April to July, compared to the same period last year. According to the data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for global air freight markets, which is measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), the global air freight market contracted by 3.2 per cent in July, compared to the same period in 2018.
This marks the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in freight volumes. The Chennai airport, which handled 37,870 tonnes of international and domestic freight during July, 2018, handled 31,909 tonnes this year, showing a negative growth of -15.3 per cent.
Similarly, in April-July, 2019, the Chennai airport handled 1,25,225 tonnes of freight when compared to 1,44,276 tonnes handled during the same period last year highlighting a negative growth of 13.2 per cent.
The Kolkata airport’s international and domestic freight declined by 13.9 per cent from April to July after handling 47,585 tonnes of freight, compared to 55,299 tonnes handled during the same period last year. So is the case with Delhi, which has registered a negative growth of 2 per cent, with Mumbai, which has recorded a negative growth of 10.7 per cent and with Bengaluru posting a negative growth of 8 per cent, during the same period, the AAI data stated.
The IATA says that air cargo continues to suffer from weak global trade and the intensifying trade dispute between the US and China.
“Global trade volumes are 1.4 per cent lower than a year ago and trade volumes between the US and China have fallen by 14 per cent year-to-date compared to the same period in 2018.”
The report by the IATA says that the global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) does not indicate an uptick. Its tracking of new manufacturing export orders has pointed to falling orders since September 2018. And for the first time since February 2009 all major trading nations have reported falling orders, the report says.