KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- The role of the logistics industry in the supply chain, especially air cargo or air freight has continued to grow in importance in the airline industry and the wider global economy.

Making this statement in his opening speech at the World Air Cargo Organization (WACO) International Conference here, Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said with the economic crisis coming to an end, air cargo growth was also once again expected to resume as well at an average six per cent annually.

International airfreight within Asia, and those exported from Asia to other parts of the world already accounts for around 45 per cent of total international freight.

"As such, Asia will be at the forefront of this cargo growth and naturally, we should take the leading role in further facilitating and spurring this sector of our economy," he noted.

The economic crisis which started late last year has seen air cargo drop by 25-35 per cent.

"The liberalisation of ASEAN markets and the depreciation of the US dollar pose a major threat to the freight business," he said.

Amid this, airlines are re-evaluating and re-designing their business models and route networks to get the most of this rapid change, Ong said.

"Everyone is competing with each other to maximise their profits while reducing cost."

In recent years, there have been countless consolidations of freight forwarders through mergers and acquisitions of the big multinational freight forwarders and this has made the industry very competitive especially with the small and medium freight forwarders.

On the upturn, he said the ongoing liberalisation and globalisation efforts in the aviation sector have radically transformed the region, opening up economies, increasing international consumer demand and fuelling the growth of the air cargo industry.

Realising that route liberalisation can open new doors to economies, the Malaysian government has always given full support to the industry, he said.

It plays an active role in all multilateral, regional and bilateral forums to further enhance the flexibility and capacity of the air transport industry, he said.

Over the last decade, Malaysia's transport and logistics industry has been also growing, with Malaysia becoming an important country hub for the world cargo traffic, he added.

-- BERNAMA