Global Air Cargo Traffic Rises in July

Worldwide air cargo traffic rose 22.7% in July from a year ago, the International Air Transport Association said.

Cargo traffic was 4% higher than early 2008, before the global economic downturn began, the group said in a statement.

July’s year-to-year cargo increase was below June’s 26.6%, which IATA said was “due to the fact that by July 2009 traffic was already starting to recover.”

Adjusted for seasonality, the improvement in demand was faster month-to-month in July than it was in June, IATA said.

Higher corporate profits are supporting an increase in capital expenditure that could continue to drive robust freight growth, the group said.

North American carriers posted 27.1% growth, less than a 25.3% increase for Asia-Pacific carriers but greater than the 12.1% gain by European carriers.