Atlas Air Executive: Air-Cargo Demand 'Soft' In Feb, Picked Up In March
March 23 2011 - 5:34PM
Dow Jones News
A top Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (AAWW) executive said
Wednesday that air-cargo demand was soft in February but picked up
in March, voicing optimism for the remainder of the year.
"We see a strong outlook for air-freight demand," coupled with
tight supply of space on large cargo jets, through 2011, Chief
Financial Officer Spencer Schwartz said, speaking at a J.P. Morgan
conference.
"We anticipate steadily improving results (for Atlas Air
Worldwide) throughout each of the quarters this year," he said.
Industrywide, however, Schwartz described February as "a bit of
a soft month" for air-cargo demand overall.
He chalked up the trend partly to the arrival of Lunar New Year
in early February this year, which typically shutters factories in
China for a week or more. He also noted that a high-profile design
issue with an Intel Corp. (INTC) chipset slowed some manufacturing,
and thus air-cargo shipments, in February.
Still, he was upbeat overall, saying March has shown improvement
and the overall air-cargo demand outlook is solid for 2011.
He noted in response to an audience question that Atlas Air's
operations in Japan haven't experienced disruptions in the wake of
the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in the country.
Atlas has a contract with Boeing Co. (BA) to fly some parts for
that company's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft out of Japan to its
Everett, Wash., factory, and it also flies materials for U.S.
military facilities in the Asian country. But Schwartz said the
operations are relatively far removed from impacted areas.
He also said business from Japan accounts for only a small slice
of Atlas Air's revenue.
-By Bob Sechler; Dow Jones Newswires; 512-258-1690;
bob.sechler@dowjones.com
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