Air cargo demand up

Cargo demand increased by 5.2% in February, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata) global traffic results released this week.
Passenger demand also improved by 8.6% compared to the same month in the previous year.
Cargo demand was positively impacted by the Chinese New Year in January which pushed some deliveries into February. When comparing to January 2012 levels, the picture becomes much more moderate, with passenger demand growing by 0.4% and cargo demand declining by 1.2%.
According to Iata, freight demand continued to be relatively stable. This trend started to develop in September 2011 and is consistent with improvements in business confidence.
“The outlook is fragile. Improvements in business confidence slowed in February. This will limit the potential for business class travel growth and it implies that an uptick for cargo is not imminent. At the same time, airlines trying to recoup rising fuel costs could risk reduced volumes on price-sensitive market segments. Weak economic conditions and rising fuel costs are a double-whammy that an industry anticipating a 0.5% margin can ill afford,” said Tony Tyler, Iata’s Director General and CEO.