China and Hong Kong air freight softness reflects growing global economic gloom
The spectacular rebound of air freight demand in the world's factory, China, over the past two years has come to an abrupt halt in 1H2011 amid worrying signs for the global economy. Predicting the impact of weakness in Europe and the US on the Chinese and broader Asian economies is a key challenge for analysts at the moment. If the air cargo segment's credentials as a bellwether of underlying economic activity holds true, there could be turbulence ahead.
