IATA figures show creeping improvement

IATA’s figures for August show international freight demand fell by 9.6 per cent from August 2008’s figures. This is a slight but significant improvement from July’s -11.3 per cent drop.
Compared to the low point of December 2008, seasonally adjusted freight demand has improved by 12 per cent, but remains exceptionally weak at 16 per cent below April 2008 levels when the fall in demand began. All regions saw improved demand conditions in August compared to July:Latin American and the Middle Eastern carriers were the only regions to report growth of 3.9 per cent and three per cent respectively.
Asia Pacific carriers, representing 44 per cent of the global freight market, saw year-on-year demand improve marginally from -9.5 per cent to minus nine per cent in August compared to July.
North American carriers saw a slightly larger improvement from -14.6 per cent in July to -12.1 per cent in August. This is similar to the -16.2 per cent to -14.5 per cent improvement registered by European carriers.
African carriers saw the largest improvement from -25.9 per cent in July to -5.1 per cent in August. The region’s small market size exaggerates any shifts.
For 2010, IATA said that it anticipates average international freight growth of 5.5 per cent, compared to an expected full-year decline in 2009 of 14.5 per cent.