Air cargo industry - leading indicator of recovery?

摘要

It's hardly surprising that air cargo is one of the aviation sectors to suffer the most from the global recession, but the actual downturn has almost been cataclysmic - demand fell by an average 15% in RTKs in the year to September 2009, and revenues last year are estimated to have plummeted by 30%, with yields down by 20% (albeit partly affected by reductions in fuel surcharges). When - and how - can the air cargo industry recover from this severe setback? International freight demand is very closely related to economic activity, and so it is natural to find that when the world economy stops, trade stops and so the economics of running a cargo operation disappear.