Search Company:
Arm of OECD Publishes First Quarter Figures .
WORLDWIDE – The latest report from the International Transport Forum (ITF) shows a mixed picture as regards traffic volumes of global multimodal freight types in the first quarter of 2016. The ITF’s verdict is to conclude that ‘the overall picture [on air freight] suggests downside risks’ according to its preliminary seasonally adjusted data. The ITF is an intergovernmental body of 57 different state representatives acting as a think-tank across all transport modes, and is an arm of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) whose role is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
Air freight, which the ITF considers a lead indicator for overall economic performance, has been decreasing since the third quarter of 2015 in the United States after a one-year period of growth. In the 28 EU countries air freight volumes remain below the pre-crisis levels. In comparison total external trade by sea in the region, measured by tonnes of goods carried, has been growing above the pre-crisis level since the first quarter of 2015.
This contrasts with the US where volumes have stagnated (-8%) and exports and imports continue to display diverging trends. Total exports transported by sea reached 38% and 13% above pre-crisis peak in the EU-28 and the United States respectively while imports stagnate below pre-crisis levels (EU -5%; USA -24%). Exports to BRICS and Asia have been the locomotive of European and North American growth since the crisis of 2008. Exports by sea from the EU-28 to BRICS and Asia remain at their above pre-crisis levels (49% and 69% above pre-crisis peaks). Exports by sea from the United States to BRICS continue to show growth, reaching 57% above pre-crisis levels. Read more
Source: HANDY SHIPPING GUIDE
