Midest Air Cargo Demand Growth Slows

Middle Eastern carriers saw air freight demand growth slow for the third consecutive month to 1.2% year-on-year in September, marking the slowest pace since July 2009, said a new report from the International Air Transport Association, TradeArabia reported. Capacity increased by 6.2%. Seasonally-adjusted freight growth, which had been trending upwards until the past year or so year, has now halted, the report said. This turnaround in performance is partly due to weaker conditions in the Middle East-to-Asia and Middle East-to-North America markets. African carriers saw freight demand increase by 12.7% in September compared to the same month last year–the fastest rate in nearly two years.