Air cargo drops in December
The economic slowdown that has hit U.S. air cargo airports spread to their counterparts in Asia and Europe in December, according to new statistics from the Airports Council International.
ACI, which draws on cargo volume data from 660 airports worldwide, estimated that global air cargo traffic in December declined by 4%, with North America witnessing the largest regional drop of 8% among the principal commercial routes.
Hong Kong, the top-ranked air cargo hub in December, posted a narrow year-on-year decline of 0.3% in cargo volume, to 196,602 tons.
At third-ranked Seoul International, cargo fell by 4.5% increase to 166,219 tons, while fourth-ranked Tokyo Narita was off by 4.2% to 164,921 tons, and ninth-place Singapore Changi saw volume slide 2.9% to 144,070 tons).
The ACI data indicated that cargo handled at thirteenth-ranked London Heathrow dipped by 5% to 115,581 tons, while twenty-seventh-place Brussels International reported a 22.5% decline to 54,029 tons.
In the U.S., world number two Los Angeles International, registered an 8.3% decline to 170,276 tons in December, while John F. Kennedy International in New York, ranked seventh and a major trans-Atlantic gateway, posted a 6.2% decline to 149,933 tons. Eleventh-ranked Chicago O’Hare saw volume weaken by 11.1% to 121,885 tons.
