Air Cargo Shipments Decline in December, Rise for Year

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Air cargo shipments fell in December, led by a decline in domestic shipments, but they climbed for the year, the Air Transport Association said Friday. Total shipments for the month fell 2.3% to 2.2 billion revenue ton-miles, while domestic shipments fell 5.2% to 1.1 billion RTMs, the trade group said in its monthly report. The December decline was the first for the year.International shipments rose 0.5% year-over-year to 1.2 billion RTMs.For the year, shipments rose 4.1% to 26.35 billion RTMs, led by a 6.4% jump in international to 14 billion RTMs and a 1.7% climb in domestic to 12.4 billion RTMs.A revenue ton-mile is the revenue generated by carrying one ton of freight one mile.Air cargo shipments always have a trucking component, since air carriers use trucks for local and regional ground transportation.