The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing a fall in air cargo demand in July compared to the same month last year.

Air freight volumes measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTK) fell 0.6%, in line with weaker global economic growth.

The decline was broad-based across all regions with the exception of Africa and the Middle East. The most pronounced falls were in the Americas, where international FTK volumes were down more than 5% compared to July 2014.

“The recent stock-market turmoil shows that investors have real fears about the strength of the global economy. And the disappointing July freight performance is symptomatic of a broader slowdown in economic growth. The combination of China’s continued shift towards domestic markets, wider weakness in emerging markets, and slowing global trade indicates that it will continue to be a rough ride for air cargo in the months to come,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

African carriers experienced growth in demand of 3.6%, and capacity rose by 11.4%. In contrast to Latin America, the strong regional trade performance in the region has underpinned solid air freight growth, despite the underperformance of the Nigerian and South African economies.