GLOBAL air cargo volumes rose in the first quarter by 4.8 per cent year on year but growth slowed into March to just 0.9 per cent due to the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, according to data from WorldACD. "In air cargo exports, the southern hemisphere did best and worst: Central and South America grew by 12 per cent, whilst Africa lost 3.3 per cent," the analyst was cited as saying in a report by London's Air Cargo News. "In incoming volumes, the European market grew by seven per cent, whilst the Middle East and South Asia had to content itself with a very modest growth of 0.6 per cent." It added that of the top 30 origins, Turkey, Japan and Ecuador recorded the highest growth levels. When looking at yields, the analyst said there was continued improvement when looking in US dollar terms during the quarter as the industry registered an 18.6 per cent improvement. "The large yield increase in US dollar can only be understood against the background of the loss the US dollar suffered against many other currencies when comparing Q1-2018 with Q1-017. "Add to this that jet fuel prices have almost doubled over the past two years, and we understand that the recent large yield increase as measured in US dollars, may take on a different meaning for different parties."