IATA: Air traffic decline continues
The International Air Transport Association said air cargo volumes were down 7.9 percent during October, dragging year-to-date air freight volume to 0.8 percent below the same period in 2007.
Forecasted declines in key air cargo sectors such as semi-conductors indicate that weakness is expected to continue.
IATA gave these details:
' Asia-Pacific carriers, which account for 44.7 percent of the international cargo market, saw international freight traffic decline 11 percent reflecting the sharp drop in the region’s exports.
' North American and European carriers saw less precipitous declines of 7.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.
' African carriers saw a 3 percent improvement in cargo during October, reflecting trade growth within Africa.
' Latin American carriers saw an 11.4 percent largest decline.
' Middle Eastern carriers saw 1 percent growth in October.
The group said international passenger air traffic for October showing a second consecutive month of global decline. International passenger traffic declined 1.3 percent compared to the same month in the previous year — a smaller decline than the 2.9 percent drop experienced in September. The October load factor was 75 percent, about 2 percentage points below previous year levels.
IATA: Air traffic decline continues
