In the most recent Global Market Forecast from Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer projected that the global aviation sector will generate a demand for 3,000 freighters by 2031. This figure, which represents a near doubling of the global freighter fleet, will be propelled by increased urbanization and economic growth in emerging regions, according to Airbus.

Despite Middle Eastern carriers recording a 16-percent, year-over-year, increase in freight demand in July, global cargo markets shrunk 3.2 percent, year-over-year, according to International Air Transport Association statistics. IATA partially attributed this decline to a comparison with a "relatively strong" July 2011, but said global trade growth is still sluggish.

Six months after the Civil Aviation Administration of China gave CDI Cargo Airlines the green light to launch operations, the carrier has commenced B737-300 service from its Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport hub to Changchun, via Qingdao. And although Asian cargo has been rather sluggish lately, CDI Cargo's Alex Zhang feels that the carrier is poised for success.

Damco's airfreight sector saw exponential growth in the first half of 2012, with volumes rising 135 percent, year-over-year.

Cargo volumes dropped steadily at Frankfurt Airport during the first half of 2012, Fraport Group traffic figures show. In addition to recording a 9.9-percent, year-over-year, drop in domestic freight volumes, the airport saw an overall tonnage stall of 9 percent from the first six months of 2011. The declines were "strengthened" by the night-flight ban imposed last fall.

In the first half of 2012, amid strife and turmoil across much of the industry, Saudi Airlines Cargo carried 251,500 tonnes of cargo. The number is a 26-percent, year-over-year, increase in activity. Cargo revenue rose 25 percent, year-over-year, during the first six months of 2012.

In a move to bring white-glove asset tracking in house, Southwest Airlines has unveiled Cargo Companion, a cellular-based device that can track shipments as well as monitor temperature, humidity and other useful information. It is being targeted at shippers of high-value perishables, time-critical parts and irreplaceable items.

The International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization, along with other aviation authorities, have urged African officials to promote and implement the Africa Strategic Improvement Action Plan. The plan, which calls for all African carriers to complete IATA Operational Safety Audit registration, contains specific ways to improve aviation safety in Africa from now until 2015.

In a position paper, the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group warned against the issuance of ad-hoc directives about the utilization of advance electronic data for airfreight security. Instead, the coalition encouraged governments around the world to take cues from the industry and look to the Air Cargo Advance Screening pilot program currently under way in the U.S. for guidance.

Boeing's latest fleet forecast predicts a doubling of the world's fleet of aircraft in the next 20 years, generating demand for 34,000 new planes, at a cost of $4.5tr. At the same time, officials said the demand for freighters will remain sluggish over the next two decades and revised downward their previous forecast. Even so, freighters will nearly double to 3,200 by 2031.