Thailand latest to be hit by drop in airfreight demand

THAI airfreight volumes fell nearly 50 per cent in January. Exports in the final quarter of 2008 fell to 107,249 tonnes compared to 140,074 tonnes in 2007.

"The January figures were worse than we expected with outbound volume falling by almost 50 per cent from a year earlier," said president of the Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association, Kasem Jaliyawatwont.

Declining exports due to the global economic slump were largely to blame but the highly distuptive anti-government protests at Bangkok's airports last year also hit the local airfreight industry hard.

Jaliyawatwong said that even when the global economy starts to recover, international companies will only return when they are reassured that there will be no more distuptions.