IATA: 5.7% air freight growth after four months

IATA: 5.7% air freight growth after four months    The Geneva-based International Air Transport Association reported 5.7 percent growth in worldwide air freight traffic for the first four months of 2006.
   “Strong economies are supporting strong demand growth for both freight and passenger traffic. Even with the high price of oil and rising interest rates there is no apparent drop in demand, and carriers are responding with careful capacity management that saw the April load factors reach their highest point    — 76.5 percent — in the past decade,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and chief executive officer.
   Middle Eastern carriers lead the growth in the four month period with a 17.9 percent year-on-year increase in freight-ton kilometers, followed by Latin America (8 percent), Asia Pacific (6 percent) and North America (5.9 percent). African and European carriers’ growth was below trend at 2.7 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
   “Strong demand is good news for an industry that continues to take a beating from oil prices averaging $20 per barrel more than in 2005. Airlines continue to cut costs and improve efficiency, but it will still not be enough to fully mitigate the price of fuel. Even more efficiency and great change are needed,” Bisignani said.