Slack in Asia air cargo signals slower U.S. electronics sales

A slackening in Asian air cargo bound for the U.S. may signal that American consumers are slowing purchases of electronics and appliances after a post-recession spending spree.

Shipments from Asia to the U.S. rose at a 15 percent pace in October, less than half the January-to-June rate, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. Electronics and appliances make up about half of Asian imports shipped by air.

Global air-cargo demand growth may slow to 5.5 percent next year from 18.5 percent this year, IATA said.

Cooling sales of discretionary items such as flat-screen TVs and PCs might indicate that household purchases won't expand as fast as many economists are assuming, said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York. Retailers such as Best Buy and Whirlpool have said consumers, whose spending accounts for 70 percent of the U.S. economy, are shying away from purchases of big-ticket items.

"Asia freight volumes to the U.S. are slowing, and this raises the risks to the outlook for electronic retail sales here," said Rupkey. "There may be a little bit of caution still given the unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent and the consumer is trying to get the debt-laden balance sheets back under control." Consumer spending may expand just 3 percent next year, Rupkey says.