A slowdown in world trade growth and shifts in the freight commodity mix are frequently cited as the two main reasons for the global air cargo market decline in recent years. According to IATA, airfreight markets declined for a second straight year in 2012, falling a further 1.5% in 2012 after a 0.6% decline in 2011. The freight load factor for the year was 45.2%. Expanding emerging economies have driven demand for bulk items carried by sea, while economic weakness in the West dampened demand for high-value consumer goods transported by air. This gloomy picture has reflected most prominently in China's air cargo market where Chinese cargo carriers collectively sank into deep losses in 2012 because of slowdown in demand from Western markets and oversupply of cargo capacities, a sharp contrast compared to the robust growth in passenger transport market. Chinese carriers' collective cargo traffic volume dipped for the second consecutive year in 2012, dropping 2% to 5.46 million tonnes last year after a 1% decline in 2011. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Chinese airlines' cargo traffic volume dipped 7.3% to 1.6 million tonnes in the first four months of 2012 alone.
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