China’s continuing economic downturn will have a negative effect on Japan’s international air cargo volumes, which are expected to contract for the first time in two years, Nittsu Research Institute and Consulting Inc. (NRIC) said in a report.
´The Tokyo-based firm which is a subsidiary of Japan’s leading freight forwarder Nippon Express, revised its previous fiscal 2015 forecast of a 3.8% decline to 5.4% as Japan feels the effects of
the economic slowdown in China, one of its largest trading partners.
Air cargo exports are projected to decline 6.4% from a year earlier to 1 million tonnes, while air cargo imports are projected to shrink 4.4% to 1.1 million tonnes.
Victim of Chinese economic weakness
NRIC had previously forecast a 4.6% decline in exports and a 3% drop in imports.
In fiscal 2014, Japan’s air cargo trade with foreign countries expanded 4.2% year over year, with exports up a massive 15.4%, which offset an import drop of 4.7%.
China’s economic decline has caused Asia-Pacific air carriers’ traffic year over year to drop 2% in July and 1% in August, the most recent months for which data is available.
Nol van Fenema
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