Recent market share gains by electronic air waybills (e-AWBs) went into reverse in October, according to the latest IATA figures.
The penetration of international airfreight markets by e-AWBs fell slightly to 50.8%, compared with 50.9%. This brought to an end the upward trend in the index seen over the past 12 months.
The e-AWB penetration rate also remains substantially below the 60.2% target set by IATA for December this year.
Total number of e-AWBs in October stood at 738,467, compared with 797,940 in September. However, the figure is substantially above the 682,990 level of November 2016.
There were falls in e-AWB penetration rates in the US (42.8% in October versus 44.3% in September) and in China (49.2% vs 52.7%). But there significant gains in South Korea (60.3% vs 56.1%), Taipei (74.9% vs 71.9%) and the UAE (85.1% vs 82.4%).
Of the main e-AWB airlines by volume, Cathay Pacific remained the leading carrier with an 83.9% rate compared with 83.4% previously. Second-placed Air France KLM’s rate rose from 64.8% to 67.2%, whereas tenth-placed IAG saw a fall-off from 47.2% to 45.5%.
Of the leading forwarders by AWB volume, third-placed Kuehne and Nagel’s rate rose from 38.8% to 42.4% while UPS’s rate fell away from 56.5% to 54.8%.