Recession lingers over LAX

OCTOBER 2011 volumes at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) are worse than those during October 2008 when the recession hit.

This October volumes dropped 10.7 per cent, as Asian imports remained weak. There has been no notable growth – except 0.8 per cent between September and October, as ocean freight took a hit – since March this year. The latest cargo volumes show no signs of change.

October’s figures marked the seventh straight year-on-year decline at North America’s largest trans-Pacific air cargo gateway at a time when carriers are reducing capacity due to poor demand.

For the first 10 months of 2011, airfreight tonnage at the airport was down 5.3 per cent compared to the same period the year before. At this rate the usual Christmas peak seems unlikely.

In 2010 LAX was the number five airport for cargo volume in the US, reaching 1,747,629 metric tonnes. It was 14th on the international scale.

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