Air Cargo Growth Up...For Now

GENEVA-The international air cargo market is showing signs of improvement compared to earlier in the year, though figures remain below those of a year ago. According to the most recent molnthly report from the International Air Transport Association, while international air cargo traffic in July was down on a year-over-year basis, the discrepancy between this year’s results and last year’s is significantly smaller.

The organization says July 2009 freight traffic was only 11.3% below the ’08 level, compared to a 16.5% year-over-year decline for June and 19.3% average decline for the first seven months of the year. IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani attributes the relative improvement in performance to the restocking of inventories. “The sector is being boosted as companies restock depleted inventories,” he comments. Unfortunately, he continues, the boost may be short-lived. “Once inventories are at desired levels in relation to sales, improvements in demand will level off until business and consumer confidence returns,” he says.

According to the report, all regions except Africa saw improvement in demand compared to June. The Middle East, however, was the only region to show actual growth. Asia-Pacific, European and North American carriers recorded 9.5%, 16.2% and 14.6% year-over-year declines, respectively, but the Middle East recorded a 1% increase. Latin America also fared well, with a year-over-year decline of only 1.2%.