Middle East is exception to weak November airfreight volumes

Middle East is exception to weak November airfreight volumes    The international airfreight growth continued at a weak 2.8 percent pace in November compared with 2004, while passenger volumes were up 6.1 percent, the International Air Transport Association reported.
   November is a barometer for the year to date, during which time freight volume has also grown by 2.8 percent compared to 7.1 percent growth in passenger traffic.
   'Overall the industry is growing which is good news. But the pace of growth has geared-down a notch as a result of weaker demand from some critical sectors such as IT,' said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general, in a statement.
   'Next year we expect freight growth to return to more normal levels in the 6.0 percent range as the business sectors driving air freight recover'particularly the IT (information technology) and semi-conductor industries,' he added.
   The overall freight figures were buoyed by 12 percent growth by Middle Eastern carriers. Asian-Pacific carriers experienced 3.9 percent growth, while North American carrier freight volumes declined 0.3 percent and European volumes only grew 1.1 percent.