S. Korea's air cargo volume falls in third quarter

South Korea posted a 0.7 percent decline in air cargo volume in the third quarter of 2011 compared to a year before, mainly due to a slow recovery in demand for information technology (IT) products, the government said Monday. Air freight handled by South Korea stood at 884,222 tons in the third quarter of this year, down from 890,348 tons transported during the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. Domestic air cargo rose 8 percent on-year to 69,000 tons, while international cargo dropped 1.4 percent to 815,000 tons. Incheon International Airport, the country's largest airport, processed a total of 776,265 tons of air cargo, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said. The decline can be attributed to a 8.1 percent reduction in export cargo at the airport. The ministry expects the declining trend of the country's air cargo volume will continue into the fourth quarter as the European and U.S. economic woes dampen consumer demand for IT products.