IATA irons out air cargo data distortions, says global demand grew 2% in Feb.

Despite posting a modest 2-percent growth in February, this “weak recovery” in global demand for air cargo is a welcome development after two successive years of treading in the doldrums, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) noted in an e-mailed statement late Tuesday. Citing distortions in terms of seasonal factors, IATA said demand for air cargo would have been down by 6.5 percent February 2013 from a year earlier. The association noted that February last year—being a Leap Year—had an extra day, plus the Chinese New Year happened in January 2012. This year, the Chinese Spring Festival was celebrated in February and was marked by many factories in Asia closing for the holidays. Asia-Pacific carriers saw a 14.7-percent drop in freight traffic due to the impact of factory closures during the Chinese New Year holiday, according to IATA. With such distortions adjusted, air cargo was actually up 2 percent in February 2013 from a year earlier, the association added. “It’s even better news that cargo growth is expected to pick up moderately as the year progresses,” said Tony Tyler, IATA director general and CEO. According to IATA, international economic indicators suggest that the global economy bottomed out in the third quarter of 2012. Industrial production and business confidence measures have been improving since then. “Demand for sea shipments already reflects the recovery in some parts of the world,” Tyler noted. “But we are not yet seeing the positive impact of this in air cargo markets. While it remains to be seen, if this is a long-term modal shift, it is clear that sea shipping is becoming a stronger competitor to air cargo.” IATA's goal is to go for 100 percent paperless transactions by using e-Air Waybill or e-AWB by 2015. “This would boost the competitiveness of air cargo with more efficient processing and faster deliveries,” said Tyler.   “The air cargo value chain is embracing the technological change needed to make e-Freight a reality,” he added. Air cargo volumes declined by 1.5 percent in 2012 and by 0.6 percent  in 2011. — VS, GMA News