By Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : International airfreight volumes are forecast to continue to be dominated by the Asia-Pacific region, with China and India in particular to grow strongly, says malaysian Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat.
By 2011, the airfreight volume within the region, as well as between the region and North America and between the region and Europe, would account for 57 per cent of the total global aifreght volume of 36 million tonnes, up from 55 per cent in 2006, he said Tuesday.
“However, the majority of the growth is expected to be on the outbound leg from the Asia Pacific,” he told reporters after officiating at the Regional Cargo 2000 and Asia Pacific IATA Cargo Conference here.
Ong said the growth in airfreight traffic closely followed the expected growth in regional economies and trade flows and there seemed to be bright prospects in the airfreight market in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The logistics industry, especially air cargo or air freight, is an important aspect of the airline industry as it accounts for about 35 per cent of the global merchandise trade, equivalent to 4.2 trillion USD in 2007.
“The airfreight sector provides an estimated total revenue of almost 55 billion USD, equivalent to 12 per cent of the airline industry’s total revenue,” he noted.