A HEALTHY growth in air cargo in 1999 makes the 3rd edition of the IATA Air Cargo Annual - released this week by the International Air Transport Association - a happy read for the airline and air-freight industries.
The report is compiled from an array of IATA data sources - using information from the cargo accounts settlement system (CASS), and the cargo clearing house (which settles transactions between airlines and authorised freight forwarders).
It shows that the air cargo market enjoyed an upbeat 1999 as global trading conditions were stimulated by economic recovery in the Asia-Pacific region. Asian countries enjoyed the strongest growth, with export tonnage rising by 30,3% and cargo revenues by 45,2%.
The Republic of Korea saw particularly strong growth in export volumes and yields.
Memphis - home airport for Federal Express, the largest carrier of international and domestic scheduled freight - handled the highest volume of freight tonnage in the world. Miami, however, slipped from second busiest airport in 1998 to eighth in 1999 - reflecting a decrease in trade between North and South America.
Federal Express and UPS were the two dominant freight carriers in 1999,
followed by Lufthansa Cargo and Korean Air Lines. Korean Air Lines led in overall tonnage carried, but Lufthansa led in
overall freight tonne-kilometres performed.
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