Saudi Airlines Cargo Co. is resuming B747 freighter services from Houston to Saudi Arabia as of June 15, 2014.

A broad group of associations representing airfreight forwarding companies is calling on the U.S. federal government to solicit input from small and medium-sized forwarders before expanding the Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) programme.

In contrast to robust growth in passenger traffic, air cargo has been in the doldrums since 2010, according to the International Air Transport Association's Economic Performance of the Airline Industry report. IATA launched this report during its 70th Annual General Meeting in Doha, Qatar. The report outlines how air transport is adding value for consumers, the wider economy, governments and investors.

All of the LD3 containers used by Lufthansa Cargo are now the lightweight versions. The LD3 standard containers produced using lighter composite materials are helping to reduce fuel consumption and emissions at the airline.

Improving signs for the overall airfreight market are growing as the combined airfreight logistics confidence index increased for the first time in four months.

Airfreight markets in March were up 5.9 percent compared to a year ago and capacity grew 3.4 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association. While this marks a significant improvement in volumes compared to March 2013, much of the growth took place in the final quarter of 2013 (over and above the usual year-end volume growth). Since the beginning of the year, air cargo volumes have been basically flat. This plateau in volumes is consistent with the recent pause in improvements to business confidence and world trade.