Asia-Pacific airlines saw air cargo traffic soar 24.5 percent in December over the same month a year ago.
Freight traffic for the region’s airlines fell 11 percent last year from 2008, and carriers responded by cutting cargo capacity an average of 11.8 percent during the year, according to figures released by the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines.
Most of the decline came in the first half of the year, when cargo traffic measured in freight metric-ton kilometers flown was off 22.3 percent from the same period the year before.
But airports across Asia reported strong demand in exports in the fall and the AAPA figures show freight traffic for the airlines grew 10.3 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period last year.
Carriers responded by restoring capacity, and the 4.5 percent increase in average available cargo space in December marked the first year-over-year upturn in capacity in 20 months.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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