International Freight Shrinkage

In a statement from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week, the effect of the global economic slowdown was clearly seen when they announced a 13.5% drop in international cargo movement in November. Air freight moves 35% of products internationally and a 13.5% drop is the largest since 2001.

North American carriers reported a drop of 14.4%, but the situation is worse for Asia-Pacific carriers, who control 44.6% of global freight, reporting a drop of 16.9%. European and Latin American carriers reported reduction in freight traffic of 11% and 15.7% respectively. As freight movements continue to fall a reduction in airline capacity is likely to follow resulting in significant job losses across the aviation industry.