June 7, 2005 8:00 AM, EDT

Overall Air Cargo Gains in April; Domestic Shipments Fall

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otal air cargo shipments rose 0.3% in April compared with a year earlier, but domestic shipments fell 3.5%, the Air Transport Association reported.

April international shipments rose 4.1%, the trade group said in its monthly report.

The combined 0.3% rise for April followed a 3.1% year-over-year increase in March.

Air cargo shipments always have a trucking component, since air carriers use trucks for local and regional ground transportation.

Year-to-date overall air cargo shipments were up 2.2% from last year through April, the group said. International increased 5.4% and domestic dropped 1% compared with last year.

Overall April cargo shipments rose to 2.053 billion revenue ton-miles from last April. A revenue ton-mile is the revenue generated by carrying one ton of freight one mile.

International shipments across the Pacific rose 2.2% and for the Atlantic increased 9.2% in April, the group said. Latin American shipments fell 5.8%.