Elusive: we'd dream of an air freight recovery if ongoing economic concerns weren't keeping us up at night.(Forwarders Forum)

The world saw a decline in air freight volumes in May as reported by both the International Air Transport Association and the U.S. Air Transport Association, and that triggered some worries around the globe. But I consider this to be an anomaly rather than a precursor of things to come. Now, that may be wishful thinking on my part but I believe the industry deserves a breather from managing crises, which has been the norm for the past four years.

A small slip in traffic for a single month is minor compared to the major issues the industry has coped with. Those include the continued struggle to recover from the economic doldrums of the recent past, new security regulations that have diverted some shippers to surface and added new expenses, reduced airline flight schedules and capacity that have resulted in fuel surcharges that in some cases exceed the tariff charges.

So what are the issues that cause airline, forwarder and other industry executives to toss and turn? Unfortunately, they continue to be the same issues, still playing out. We can't seem to get away from of put behind us those challenges that have been haunting us.

Security. We are all tired of hearing about security and the effect new regulations have on our industry.

However, those charged with regulating air cargo security have not been capable of providing an air freight security program that satisfies legislators. In reality, it has been the recommendations of an Aviation Security Advisory Committee and the ability of the Transportation Security Administration to develop proactive communications that focuses on positive actions the industry has taken that have created a more secure air freight environment.

Schedule Rationalization. As the airlines continue to bleed cash, they are trying to rationalize their fleets and schedules to match demand with capacity and deploy more fuel-efficient aircraft where possible. In many cases, both domestically and internationally, air freight capacity is reduced. This is coming when cargo demand globally is exceeding expectations and capacity is being ...