Japanese international air cargo picks up in December

JAPAN Airlines and All Nippon Airways have registered sizeable increases in their international air freight volumes in December 2009 on a year-on-year basis, reversing months of decline.

December's improvement marked the second consecutive month of growth in JAL's international air cargo volumes, after falling for 15 straight months. In December the carrier's air freight volume grew by 29.9 per cent compared to the same month in 2008 to 52,884 tons.

During the first nine months of fiscal 2009, which started in April, JAL transported a total of 454,585 tons of cargo on international routes, down 12.6 per cent compared to the same period the previous fiscal year, it said.

But JAL's domestic freight volumes have been decreasing for nine consecutive months, with December's volume falling by 5.4 per cent to 51,380 tons compared to the same month a year earlier, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. On a brighter note, "The year-on-year pace of decline slowed from 7.3 per cent in November and was the slowest in five months," the report said.

Between April and December, JAL airlifted 365,120 tons on domestic routes, down 7.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Last month, JAL filed for bankruptcy protection and is currently restructuring its business under a state-backed plan.

As for ANA, its international freight volume rose for the fourth straight month in December 2009 when it registered year-on-year growth of 73 per cent to 38,281 tons.

Last September saw the first year-on-year increase in international air freight volumes in 11 months when volumes rose by 3.7 per cent. This was followed by growth of 7.5 per cent in October and 36.7 per cent in November.

From April to December, ANA transported a total of 280,500 tons of air cargo on international routes, up 6.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2008.

But ANA domestic air freight volumes registered the fifth straight month of decline in December on a year-on-year basis, with volumes slightly decreasing by 0.1 per cent to 47,274 tons.

During the April-December period, ANA transported a total of 347,202 tons of cargo on domestic routes, a decrease of three per cent from a year earlier.

Source: www.schednet.com