Optimism Takes Flight.

BYLINE: Paul Page

If air freight shipping around the world is to grow as fast as a new report predicts, the industry will have to pick up the pace it has set over the past decade.

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In its closely watched biannual "World Air Cargo Forecast," aircraft manufacturer Boeing says air shipping will grow at a 5.8 percent average annual rate over the next 20 years, putting the business on track to triple through 2027 and pushing demand for double the number of freighters that are flying today.

But the two-decade forecast cycle is off to a slow start, with air cargo traffic advancing only 5.1 percent last year, by Boeing's estimate, …