Air cargo traffic slowly rose through 2013 overall, particularly in the final quarter, but Asian airlines are struggling with air freight. Air freight markets improved steadily throughout 2013, with the highest volumes gained in December, up 1.8% on the previous year, according to IATA (International Air Transport Association).
However, air freight traffic fell 1.1% in Asia, where Asia-Pacific carriers have nearly 40% of the global air freight market, and this weakness in air cargo markets continues to be the biggest concern for airlines. Air cargo continues to be weak and for the big airlines in the Asia region, it is a very important part of their revenue.