The minor 0.6% year-on-year growth in worldwide air cargo in September is less significant than the 0.6% fall in air freight volume between August and September, said the International Air Transport Association in its monthly report on air traffic. International air freight was up 0.5% for the month, and domestic was up 1.3%, it said. Despite the year-over-year growth, September was the second notable month-on-month fall in air freight growth in a row, it said, and that eroded the stability in volumes achieved earlier in 2012. Capacity was trimmed 0.6% compared to year-ago levels, it said, increasing the freight load factor slightly to 45.6% from 45.1% a year ago.

Horizon Lines had a $1.4 million profit in the quarter ended Sept. 23, vs. a $111.7 million loss a year ago, it said. Revenue grew to $279.6 million from $267.6 million. Container volume for the 2012 third quarter totaled 61,514 revenue loads, up 3.4% from the same period a year ago. Unit revenue per container was $4,245 in the 2012 third quarter, compared with $4,171 in 2011. Unit revenue per container, net of fuel surcharges, was $3,218, up 2.9% from $3,127 a year ago, it said.

Nippon Cargo Airlines said it will launch new freighter flights connecting Tokyo's Narita Airport and DFW International Airport Nov. 5. The twice-weekly flights will be the first direct freighter connections for the Dallas/Fort Worth area into Japan, it said. Nippon Cargo will operate the route from Narita to Chicago O'Hare, then to DFW Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, and then back to Narita, using 747-400 aircraft. It plans to phase-in 747-8's later.

Economic activity is expected to remain the main driver of growth in air freight for the foreseeable future, said the Airport Council International’s 2013 edition of the Global Traffic Forecast 2012-2031. Freight operations (measured in tons) should grow faster than passenger operations for airlines, it said. In 2011 freight was estimated at roughly 93 million tons and will more than double to reach about 225 million tons by 2031, averaging 4.5 percent growth per annum, ACI said.

The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance "will have their respective committees review their positions and analyze associated costs," resulting from proposals exchanged Oct. 23 and 24, said George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service in a statement on the ongoing talks. He said only that the two sides "discussed a number of major issues."

FedEx Freight said it's expanding its Canada and Mexico services, with expanded geographic coverage and upgrades to its shipping tools that assist customers in processing less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. It expanded its FedEx Freight Priority next-day service between 13 U.S. markets and Canada with the opening of the Rochester, N.Y., service center, which connects cross-border shipments to and from Toronto and Montreal. In addition, Rochester and all U.S. gateway centers for service to Canada are already compliant with the Nov. 1, 2012, Canada Border Services Agency eManifest requirement, it said. For Mexico, two new service centers are planned: The Culiacán service center covers northwestern Mexico, which includes Mexicali and Tijuana. The Silao center provides service to the state of Guanajuato, located in the north central part of Mexico. FedEx said it also added ability to process cross-border LTL shipments to and from Canada and Mexico through FedEx Ship Manager Software, FedEx Ship Manager Server and FedEx Web Services.

Flight dispatchers for Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo represented by the Teamsters said they signed their first contract with the company. The dispatchers voted for Teamster representation four years ago and negotiations began in October 2009. The tentative agreement includes extensive economic improvements as well as multiple positive work rule changes, they said.

Air Canada Cargo will use OAG Cargo's AFRA online rate distribution and management application as an eRate publishing and distribution channel across its America network, OAG said. The introduction will enable AFRA subscribers to have access to Air Canada Cargo's rates, it said. OAG said AFRA reduces the need for forwarders to call and negotiate individual shipment rates.

Teamster negotiators said the first round of UPS Freight negotiations wrapped up last week in San Diego with significant progress being made. Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall, Director of the Package Division, said the union presented proposals to the company that include eliminating subcontracting, limiting the overuse of casuals and allowing discretionary days to accumulate year to year. The National Negotiating Committee refused to accept a company proposal to be reimbursed for 10 cents per page for any paper copies requested by a local union in excess of 10 pages, it said. UPS Freight negotiations are to resume Nov. 12-16 in Washington, D.C.

Worldwide trade via specialized refrigerated containers increased by 54.5 million tons between 2001 and 2011, for an annual growth rate of 3.9%, with seaborne trade reaching almost 91 million tons in 2011, according to a new report by Drewry Maritime Research. It said the perishable reefer trade remains resilient to adverse economic conditions and future growth in cargo volume is inevitable.