Worldwide air cargo volumes moved into positive territory in October for the first time since July2008 in a further sign of a recovery in international trade, the latest month figures from Airports
Council International (ACI) show. The Middle East and Asia again led the way.The association’s monthly FreightFlash survey, covering airports representing about 70% ofworldwide tonnage, reported a 1.4% increase in international freight, a 2.2% increase for domesticfreight and an overall 1.3% increase for worldwide freight traffic in October 2009 compared toOctober 2008.
For the first ten months of 2009, total freight has declined by 12%, with internationalfreight down by 15% and domestic freight by 6%, relative to the same 10-month period in 2008.
Angela Gittens, Director General ACI World, commented: “The black ink in all three freightcategories for the first time since July 2008 is the best traffic news of the month. This iswelcome positive progress coming on the heels of a steady narrowing of the negative gap with 2008traffic results. This pattern mirrors the ‘down-flat-up’ curve we have seen in passenger trafficover the past few months.”
But she cautioned: “This is not a sharp turning point, and even if positive growth continuesin November and December, we are still likely to see a negative overall result for 2009 of about10%.”
At a regional level, the Middle East soared with a 17.5% rise in freight tonnage in October,leaving ten-month volumes fractionally higher (0.3%).
Airports in Asia Pacific enjoyed a 5.1% rise in freight traffic in October, with domesticvolumes up 12% and international traffic up by 2.9%. Over the first ten months, total air freightin the region was 11% lower, with domestic volumes up 2.8% and international volumes down 15.3%.
In North America, total air freight declined 2.2% in October. Domestic traffic was 0.7% lowerand international volumes dropped 4.5%. Over the first ten months, North American airports had a12.9% drop in freight volumes, with domestic traffic down 9.1% and international traffic 20.3%lower.
European airports reported freight volumes down 2.3% in October, with international traffic1.1% lower. Over the first ten months, volumes dropped 15.3%, with international freight 15.9%lower.
In Latin America, volumes dropped 2.1% in October and were 17.2% lower over the first tenmonths. Africa showed a 2.2% rise for October and an 11.4% fall for the year to date.
