THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) international scheduled traffic results for November shows freight demand was up 9.5 per cent year on year while passenger volume rose 2.1 per cent.

The improvement in freight, said the Geneva-based industry association, is exaggerated because of the sharp fall in demand in the second half of 2008. Passenger load factors remain at pre-crisis levels at 75.4 per cent while freight load factors stood at 56.6 per cent.

Freight demand is 20 per cent better than the low point in December 2008, but still 10 per cent below the peak levels seen in early 2008. Compared to October (and adjusting for seasonality), freight demand grew 4.7 per cent, largely on the strength of markets connected to Asia Pacific.

"Demand continues to improve, but we still have a lot of ground still to recover. We cannot anticipate any significant improvement in yields in the coming months. So, conserving cash, controlling costs and carefully matching capacity to demand remain at the keys to survival," said IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani in a statement.

The bulk of the air freight markets connect to Asia, which as a region, showed 14.5 per cent growth in demand driven by industrial output and broader economic recovery within the region.

Carriers in other regions also saw strong growth in freight with Middle East leading (+21.4 per cent), Latin America (+17.5 per cent) followed by North America (+13.6 per cent) and lastly Africa (+8.1 per cent).

European carriers were the only group to post a drop in traffic, recording a 5.6 per cent fall in demand.

Improvements in passenger demand contain significant variances by region in November; demand growth was recorded by carriers from Asia-Pacific (+5.1 per cent), Latin America (+8.2 per cent) and the Middle East (+16.5 per cent). Asian traffic growth is driven most directly by economic recovery (with the exception of Japan). Asian economic growth is fuelling strong demand for commodities in both Latin America and Africa.

While Latin American carriers benefit from business growth, a 2.1 per cent fall in African traffic indicates a loss in market share. Middle East growth of 16.5 per cent can also be related to the strength of Asia and the ability of Middle East carriers to facilitate connection traffic to the region through Mideast hubs.

European and North American carriers both experienced a 3.0 per cent fall in November traffic. Unemployment concerns continue to negatively impact consumer confidence in both markets. Compared to last November, European carriers have cut capacity by 3.9 per cent and North American carriers by 6.7 per cent. While this has boosted load factors, capacity adjustments may also be weighing on growth rates.