Airports around the world are reporting a drop in cargo traffic to and from Asia now that China's economy is struggling, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The data, released by airport authorities this week (1 September), marks the end of a stretch of rapid growth in air-freight volume across the US and Europe, and is a worrying sign for the health of global trade,it said.
The abrupt reversal demonstrates how quickly economic problems in China and other emerging markets reduce the flow of goods around the world, the WSJ said.
China’s economy stumbled this year: In early August, the government unexpectedly devalued the yuan in hope of boosting growth by reinvigorating exports. Chinese stock markets plummeted, triggering steep drops in share prices worldwide.
The recent drop in airfreight volume has analysts concerned, said the WSJ.
“What the customers are telling us is that the peak season [for Asia-to-US traffic] is going to be lower than last year,” Roberto Schiavone, senior vice president for airfreight in the Americas for Panalpina, one of the world’s largest freight forwarders, told the WSJ.
In July, Asia freight tonnage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport slipped 0.4 per cent from a year earlier after growing 21 per cent in the first six months of 2015, according to WSJ figures. Taiwan-based China Airlines, the airport’s second-largest Asia freight carrier, reported a 39 per cent decline from a year earlier in cargo tonnage through Seattle in July.
European airports also experienced declines in July in shipping connected to Asia. Frankfurt Airport, the busiest cargo airport in Europe, reported a 2.1 per cent decrease in freight tonnage that was driven by a 9.1 per cent drop in East Asia traffic. At Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, shipping connected to the Far East slid 8.3 per cent in July, part of an overall drop of 2.1 per cent for the month.
July’s weak air-cargo numbers could prove to be an anomaly if a weaker yuan spurs more Chinese exports, analysts told the WSJ.
But there are signs that trade with Asia was faltering before the summer. Business has been flat for most of the year at Hong Kong International Airport, Asia largest air cargo hub, which reported a 1.9 per cent decline from a year earlier in cargo tonnage in July.
