Cargo traffic increased by 4.6% worldwide in 2006, by more than in 2005 when it registered 3.2%growth, according to new statistics published by the International Air Transport Association.
The Middle East was the fastest growing region, with freight volumes expanding by 16.1% lastyear, following a 14.6% rise in freight tonne kilometres in 2005.
However, the key European and Asian markets were “relatively subdued”, IATA pointed out, with2006 freight traffic up just 1.7% in Europe and 4.7% in Asia Pacific. “High fuel costs and strongcompetition from other transport modes, particularly in Europe, constrained growth,” theassociation said in a statement.
Volumes in Latin America declined by 2.6%, primarily due to industry restructuring, IATAsaid, whereas North America and Africa posted 6% and 5.9% rises, respectively. Global passengergrowth, meanwhile, was up 5.9%, a lower increase than the 7.6% recorded in 2005.
The air transport industry performed better economically in 2006, showing an estimatedoperating profit of $10.2 billion. Net loss was $500 million, which should be turned into a netprofit in 2007 of $2.5 billion through cost reductions and careful capacity management, IATA said.
“The focus for 2007 is efficiency,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA director general. “Industry-wide, we expect revenue growth to slow from 8% in 2006 to 4.5% in 2007. Bottom-lineimporovement depends on achieving further efficiencies across the board,”
“Airlines have reduced non-fuel unit costs by an average of 3.5% per year over the last fiveyears. It is time for our industry partners across the value chain – including airports and airnavigation service providers – to deliver similar results,” he added.
