18/09/2020

FRA Cargo Climate Index August 2020

News

(Compared to previous week: →)

Actual Traffic Figures

July 2020

August 2020 Δ % y-t-y
Cargo (Freight & Mail in t) 150,959 160,937 (↗) - 7,0%
Passengers 1,318,502 1,511,256(↗) - 78,2%
Aircraft Movements 15,372 17,695(↗) - 61,9%

At around 6 %, the cargo volume increased again compared to the previous month (), while the structure has hardly changed: In August, approximately 78% of the cargo volume was flown with freighters (→), approximately 16% as belly cargo (→) and approximately 5% with cargo-only passenger aircrafts (→). The ratio of imports to exports has barely changed from the previous month (→). However, the ratio of exports to imports has shifted slightly in favor of exports (51% to 49%). The export volumes saw a much stronger increase and thus contributed significantly to the increase in the total cargo volume (↗).

Freighter flights also showed a sideways movement in the number of aircraft movements and transported freight compared to the previous month (→). Therefore number of Freighter-movements continues to exceed the traffic figures for 2019 (↗).

Classification of the current situation by the cargo stakeholders interviewed

The evaluation of the situation has brightened up for imports as well as for exports: in each case, the number of respondents stating the current freight volumes as "lower than expected" has fallen significantly (↗). The assessment of freight volumes as "above expectations" has increased at a similar rate (↗).

There is also a positive trend in the estimation of future cargo volumes for imports and exports: around 40% of all respondents rate the development in imports as "increasing", and for exports this figure is even around 60% (↗). The assessment of available capacity has also changed accordingly. None of the respondents currently see an excess of available capacity (↗), while around 80% of the responses report that capacity is available in line with demand.

A uniform assessment of the product groups was only given with regard to a high volume of pharmaceuticals, which even increased compared to the previous weeks (↗). For the other product groups, no particular trend was evident, which indicates an increase in freight volumes spread across all goods groups. 100% of those interviewed were satisfied with the performance of the location in their own building and that of the authorities or rated it as adequate (→). With regard to both landside and airside performance, over 80% gave a positive assessment of the situation with "satisfied" or "appropriate". However, the number of dissatisfied persons increased, but at a low level. This is probably due to the increase in volume and the associated workload (↘).

Reported findings and need for action from the experience of recent months

In order to be able to evaluate the feedback on performance in FRA, this time an assessment of the development of FRA compared to European competitions was also requested. Around two thirds of the respondents rated the development of FRA as being better than at competitive locations. The flexibility developed and demonstrated in recent months has contributed significantly to this. Such flexibility will continue to be guaranteed in the future, as the relevance of the charter business is expected to be consolidated. This is accompanied by challenges such as the availability of staff, but also the generally more difficult predictability. At the same time, however, the cost pressure is increasing, at least for individual industry groups, due to declining margins.

Issued by: FRA Cargo Team as of: September 18th 2020, Cargo & Logistics Infrastructure Development, ZFL, Fraport AG
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