Innovation may fuel air cargo recovery

As noted in today’s news story, all the major regions experienced year-on-year air cargo declines, but the introduction of new consumer products such as the iPhone 5 could offset some downward pressure from the weak business environment.

To put this “two-speed” recovery into perspective, The International Air Transport Association (IATA), drilled down to these details:

*Asia-Pacific carriers saw a 1.6% decline in demand in September compared to the previous year. This is an improvement over August, when demand dropped 5.3% but still no progress compared to a year ago. Capacity dropped 3%.

*North American airlines had a 1.1% drop in demand, against a 3.1% drop in capacity. The load factor climbed 0.7% points to 35.2%.

*European airlines had a 0.4% decline in traffic, but capacity climbed 1.2% and the load factor dropped 0.7% points to 45.6%.

*Middle Eastern carriers had a 16.3% rise in traffic on a 6.9% rise in capacity, pushing up the load factor 3.8% points to 46.1%.

*Latin American airlines’ demand slipped 1.6% while capacity jumped 9%, resulting in a load factor of 37.8%, down 4.1% points.

African carriers saw a 4.1% rise in demand with capacity up 1.4%, raising the load factor 0.6% points to 24.1%, the lowest for any region.

But there may be some positive numbers surfacing in the final months of the year, IATA analysts suggest. They conclude their report by observing that “tough times deliver innovation. High oil prices have turned fuel management into a fine art of conserving every last drop.”