Asia Pacific airlines saw “stable” air cargo demand in July as manufacturing started to pick up in the region, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Latest AAPA data showed cargo traffic — measured in freight tonne-kilometre (FTKs) — was 16% down year on year in July while the average load factor was 10.4 percentage points higher at 69.7%.

AAPA said this “reflects the sharp reduction in bellyhold cargo capacity following the grounding of most international passenger service operations”.

“Following a modest recovery in the global manufacturing sector, Asian airlines saw relatively stable demand for international air cargo shipments, although traffic measured in FTK was still 16% below the levels seen in the same month last year,” it said.

“The average international freight load factor was 10.4 percentage points higher at 69.7% for the month, reflecting the sharp reduction in bellyhold cargo capacity following the grounding of most international passenger service operations.”

In the seven months to July, demand was down 16.2% compared to the same first seven months figure seen in 2019.