International air cargo growth continued to slow in March like in February, according to the latestmonthly traffic figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In March, international air freight growth of 3.2% remained sluggish and well below the 4.3%growth recorded in 2007, although the early Easter this year reduced the number of working days. InFebruary, traffic had grown 5.9% but this included one additional working day due to the leap year.
Asia, the largest air cargo market, grew just 1.7% in March following a 1.6% rise inFebruary. This left it with a 2.6% rise for the first three months of the year. Europe showed a1.9% traffic rise in March, and a 4.7% traffic increase in the first quarter. North America was upby 8.8% in March, and by 7.8% in Q1.
“Traffic only tells a part of the story. Astronomical oil prices are hitting hard. And thebuffer of an expanding economy has disappeared. The fortunes of the industry have taken a majorturn for the worse,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
