WorldACD, the Amsterdam-based air cargo market data specialist, reports that April 2014 showed a volume growth of 6.3% year-over-year, a little below the 6.8% growth in the first quarter.

“When we look at our April figures, we can only conclude that the positive trend continues”, said Gerard de Wit, managing director of WorldACD.

“With expectations for the full year being upbeat, one wonders where business will increase most. Since recent past performance may well be an indicator for future developments, WorldACD compared 2013 with 2012 for a number of catchment areas worldwide.”

De Wit added: “From a perspective of market potential and market trends, airlines not only look at cities and countries, but also at catchment areas.

“Our database is built up from individual AWB records coming from each of the airlines participating in WorldACD. This detailed level of information allows us to segment the market per catchment area”.

WorldACD drew a circle of 500 km around a number of top origin cities, and compared 2013 with 2012 for each of these catchment areas, taking outgoing and incoming air cargo together “We found some striking differences,” said de Wit. See growth figures in the chart.

He added: “The big centres in Europe and Middle East, South Asia did better than average in 2013. Most of them look set for doing the same in 2014. The main centres in the US do much better in 2014. The same goes for the Pearl River Delta.

“A number of the newer cargo centers continue to climb the ladder: Oslo, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Quito and Karachi to name a few.”