Global air cargo traffic will double in the next 20 years, enjoying annual growth of 4.7 percent as international trade picks up after a long period of stagnation, US aerospace giant Boeing predicted Tuesday.
Major airline operators were severely hit by the global financial crisis in 2008 and, despite a rebound in 2010, worldwide air cargo traffic has remained flat in recent years.
But Boeing, in its biennial World Air Cargo Forecast released at an industry expo in Seoul, said traffic had grown 4.4 percent on-year from January to July this year.
"We see strong signs of a recovery as air freight traffic levels continue to strengthen after several years of stagnation," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing`s Commercial Airplanes.
"The air cargo market is now growing at nearly the long-term rates," he said in a statement.
The report predicted cargo traffic between Asia and North America, as well as Asia and Europe would continue to dominate the market, although the fastest growth would be in intra-Asian and Chinese domestic volumes.
