Amsterdam Airport Schiphol finished 2015 with a total throughput of 1,621,097 tons of air cargo – only marginally (0.7 percent) down on the all-time record set in 2014.

A strong fourth quarter saw the third quarter year-on-year deficit of 1.44 percent after the third quarter halved. The fourth quarter was Schiphol’s strongest of 2015, and its first quarter of consistent growth. It also marked the culmination of five consecutive months of growth.

For 2015 as a whole, North America showed the best growth, at 5.6 percent, followed by Latin America, at 5.1percent. Africa was also marginally up, at 0.5percent.

Schiphol’s largest market, Asia, was down 2.8 percent; the Middle East was slightly down at 0.1 percent; and Europe continued to disappoint, showing a reduction of 12.7 percent compared to 2014. Freighter movements for 2015 totaled 16,775, up 1.2 percent.

“From a weak beginning in the first half of 2015, Schiphol has seen better traffic levels in the second half, ending with a total tonnage that is surprisingly close to our all-time record set in 2014,” said Cargo Director Jonas van Stekelenburg. “Considering the continuing weakness of China, our largest market, this is a very encouraging achievement.”

There was no movement in the ranking of Schiphol Airport’s market regions, and little change in their respective shares of traffic. Asia topped the tonnage league, with a 38.05 percent share of the total; North America retained second place, with a share of 18.91 percent, up from 17.8 percent in 2014); the Middle East held third place with a 12.96-percent share; Africa came fourth with 10.89 percent; Latin America came in a close fifth with 10.88 percent; and Europe was sixth, with a reduced share of 8.31 percent, down from 9.45 percent in 2014.

“My team and I now have our strategy in place for 2016 onwards, supported by a strong mandate from our community to continue with our policy of innovation and industry leadership,” said van Stekelenburg. “With significant investment committed to the enhancement of Schiphol’s community information platform, Cargonaut, we have the means to continue streamlining processes and so further ensure reliable, comprehensive and up to date information.”