Air cargo woes bottoming out

Worldwide air cargo volumes are continuing to run at levels some 20-22 per cent below those of 12 months ago but the market decline may be starting to level out, according to some of the latest airline industry statistics to be published.

The Association of European Airlines released its figures for January and February which show the total cargo volume carried by its 34 member carriers was down 21 per cent in each of those months compared with the opening two months of 2008, "by far the worst monthly figures on record", although the February 2008 figure became minus 18 per cent when adjusted to allow for an extra day in February 2008.

A few days earlier, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), which represents some 230 airlines around the world, published figures showing that its February international freight volumes were 22.1 per cent below 2008 levels. "This is the third consecutive month at more than 20 per cent below previous year levels (23.2 in January and -22.6 per cent in December)."

Giovanni Bisignani, Iata's Director-General and CEO, said: "Freight traffic, which began its decline in June 2008 before passenger markets were hit, has now had three consecutive months in the -22 per cent to -23 per cent range. We may have found a bottom to the freight decline but the magnitude of the drop means that it will take time to recover," said .

In its report on the February figures, Iata said all air cargo markets had seen "extremely weak" demand continue "as a result of the collapse in international trade in goods and the much lower shipment of components by manufacturers".

"However, the level of air freight appears to have found a floor over the past three months. The recently-released Eurozone Purchase Managers Indices, being useful forward looking indicators for cargo traffic, showed a slight and unexpected improvement in March, although it remained in negative territory."

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