Asia-Pacific leads October's 14.4pc global air cargo hike

INTERNATIONAL air freight volume rose 14.4 per cent in October against May's decline of five per cent, signalling a "turning point", says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Year-on-year figures are encouraging for the freight sector on a seasonally adjusted basis, but the marginal single month uptick is the question mark, said IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.

"It remains to be seen if this is the stabilisation in freight volumes or the start of an upward trend," he said in his monthly statement.

Global air freight growth was driven by Asia-Pacific airlines which took a 44 per cent share of the total and despite a slight dip from September's 16.2 per cent to 14.9 per cent in October its annualised growth rate of 22 per cent reflects strong recovery in China and India.

This compares to European airlines which saw a 12.1 per cent year on year demand slightly below North American carriers of 12.2 per cent. Both regions were up six per cent compared to December 2009, despite currency weakness for the euro and the dollar.

Careful management of cargo capacity at 9.2 per cent against demand of 24 per cent reflects a "good deal of prudence" with cost control a main theme for airlines everywhere, he said.

"We are ending 2010 in much better shape than we were 12 months ago. Airlines have turned losses into profit - albeit tiny. Despite the economic uncertainties people continue to fly," he added with passenger demand up 10.1 per cent in the same month.
(Source:www.schednet.com)