There is a growing mismatch between the performance of the passenger and cargo sides of the airline business, IATA has revealed. A 5.3-percent growth in passenger numbers in 2012, with a 3-percent improvement in yield, contrasts sharply with the 2-percent fall in both freight tonne-kilometers and cargo yield.

IATA's latest Airline Industry Forecast predicts average international freight growth of three percent per year over the next five years. That would mean volumes will total 34.5 million tonnes by 2016, 4.8 million tonnes more than the 2011 total.

Global opposition has forced the European Union to conditionally freeze its emissions trading scheme for one year. EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said she is seeking to create "a positive atmosphere" for global talks concerning aircraft emissions management - an approach lauded by many in the aviation industry.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced that it has "formalized and expanded" its Air Cargo Advance Screening pilot program, which enables cargo executives to send and receive advance security filing data for their consignments.

Chinese carriers Yangtze River Express and Navitrans; the new Chinese-Turkish combo MyCargo; and Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines have all recently signed up to provide cargo service to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. This new intake will add another 10 flights a week to the airport's freighter schedule, reportedly providing the potential to increase cargo traffic by as much as 10,000 tonnes a month.

Freight volumes in the Asia-Pacific region fell 4.4 percent, year-over-year, in August, a drop in line with the 4.1-percent, year-over-year, decrease in cargo capacity the area recorded last month. Such losses aren't exclusive to August, however; last month marked the sixth consecutive month of cargo declines in the Asia-Pacific, according to Association of Asia Pacific Airlines statistics.

The U.S. airfreight market generated revenues of $28bn in 2011, a 7.4 percent, year-over-year, increase. Although a seemingly positive development, this figure is on par with the revenues the industry recorded in the 2000-2001 financial year. Such statistics show that the U.S. - despite the domination of integrators FedEx and UPS - isn't immune to the sluggishness affecting the global airfreight market, a new study conducted by Air Cargo Management Group asserted.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide has agreed to purchase freight-forwarding rival Phoenix International Inc. for $635m in cash and stock options. C.H. Robinson expects the deal, which is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, will modestly add to earnings per share in the first year, while boosting C.H. Robinson's international freight forwarding activities.

Uncertainty is the only certainty in the current airfreight market, according to Kenji Hashimoto, the new man in charge of American Airlines Cargo.

International Civil Aviation Organization authorities have encouraged the more than 700 officials that convened in Montreal for its High-level Conference on Aviation Security to adopt new airfreight security measures. A risk-based approach to cargo safety is key, ICAO personnel reiterated during the conference.