JOC Staff | Jan 20, 2012 10:22AM EST
The recovery in U.S. shipping demand is showing up at Los Angeles International Airport, North America’s largest gateway for trans-Pacific air cargo.
The airport had its busiest month for freight volume in five months in November, and although tonnage slipped slightly year-over-year the business defied seasonal trends by growing 5 percent from October to November.
That gave LAX 152,623 metric tons of freight in the month, the strongest volume since June.
The gain came amid improvement in the U.S. economy late in 2011 following a lull in shipping volume that stretched from mid-summer into the fall. For air carriers and airports, however, it was likely just as important that holiday retail sales grew ahead of store inventories, pushing more demand for expedited shipping.
The freight volume at Los Angeles was down 0.9 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago, a strong improvement from the 10.7 percent drop in October.
