Emirates believes cargo upturn to come in Q4 2009

Following the recent delivery of Emirates first 777F the carrier has said it expects a recovery in cargo volumes by the last quarter of 2009.

Despite the decline, the airline is expected to announce a year-on-year growth in freight volume.

Ram Menen, senior vice president of the cargo arm said the cargo business has run into rough weather after three years of robust growth.

“The dramatic fall in volumes was in November and December,” he said. Adding that it happened around the same time as the global automotive industry got into difficulty.

Menen said the outlook for cargo business remains poor amid a falling demand in Europe and the US for Asian consumer goods and the decline in automotive production.

"There will be stability in the next four to five months and some semblance of growth in the last quarter of 2009," he said.

International freight volumes were 22.1% below their 2008 levels for February, said IATA.

Menen said yields have come under pressure due to the economic downturn. The US and China routes have suffered the most, while the Middle East and Africa are doing well and the Indian sector is stable, he said.

Overall, the airline has registered growth in 2008-09 on the 1.3 million tonnes of cargo it carried in 2007-08, Menen said, without giving details.

Despite weak demand, Menen insists Emirates will continue to add cargo capacity.

With the new freighter, the number of cargo planes in the Emirates fleet has increased to eight. Emirates SkyCargo has another eight freighters on order, with options on a further nine.