GLOBAL freight volumes continued to be weak owing to sluggish trades in Europe and the US, according to statistics released by the OECD's International Transport Forum (ITF).

Surveying trade till June in both the EU and the US, the ITF said volumes remain below the June 2008 peak before the global financial crisis. The two regions' total external trade by air (in tonnes) drew back to the levels in October 2011 and has lingered at negative one per cent since then.

In the US, the sea freight at the end of June 2012 was still six per cent below the pre-crisis peak four years ago, while sea trades in the 27 states of the European Union was one per cent below that pre-crisis level.

Overall trade by sea and by air in most European countries remained soft and below the pre-crisis levels, except for Germany and the Netherlands. At the end of June, Germany's total external trade by sea was 12 per cent above the pre-crisis level. For air freight, signs of significant slowdown were seen, as imports have dropped from 46 per cent to 19 per cent above the pre-crisis level between June 2011 and June 2012.

The report said the persistent euro crisis has reduced imports owing to deteriorating domestic demand. Taking Greece as an example, its imports for June 2012, measured in tonnes of goods moved, fell to 41 per cent below pre-crisis peaks for maritime transport and 50 per cent for air cargo.

In contrast, domestic demand in Asian economies has continued to grow. The US and EU exports to Asia by air rebounded in the end of June.

Sea exports from the EU to Asia reached a new high for both Europe and the States with 61 per cent and 25 per cent above June 2008 levels respectively. But EU and US imports from Asia by sea in the same period continue to be lower than pre-crisis levels.

Overall, the EU and US total trade with Asia has picked up to exceed the pre-crisis levels, except for a negative seven per cent for the EU trade by sea.