Air cargo winces in response to global economic slowdown

Air cargo traffic slipped 1.4 percent from a year earlier in the first six months of the year due to decreased import-export shipments, the government said yesterday.

The country’s air cargo shipments amounted to about 1.72 million tons in the January-June period, compared with 1.74 million tons a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The drop came solely from a decrease in the volume of international cargo, which shrank 2 percent on-year to some 1.57 million tons.

“In the case of international cargo, the slowdown of Chinese and U.S. economies along with the persistent effects of the European financial crisis led to a drop in air cargo,” the ministry said in a press release.

Domestic cargo transportation via air, on the other hand, climbed 5.9 percent on-year to some 143,000 tons.

By region, shipments to Southeast Asia and the Middle East gained 2.9 percent and 16 percent from a year earlier, respectively, while the volume of air cargo to and from China and the United States slipped 8.2 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

The ministry said air cargo traffic was expected to shrink again in the second half partly due to the European financial woes that have led to a “significant drop in global demand for IT products and mobile phones.”