The air-cargo industry is starting to see glimmers of hope after a brutal year.

Shipping volumes and prices have slipped substantially, explained Eric Andrews, this year’s program director of Air Cargo Americas, an annual industry meeting that took place from November 4 to 6 in Miami.

Indicators show the industry has hit bottom when it comes to volumes of freight flown, and there are signs of modest growth, Andrews said. But, “it’s too early to tell if it’s a trend or just a hiccup.”

As CEO of his own firm, Miami-based Mission Cargo Management, Andrews handles cargo sales and service for major airlines. But, while Mission is moving about the same amount of freight as last year— about 400 tons a month—rates have fallen about 50 percent, he said.

Even so, Andrews said he thinks volume will begin growing slowly next year and continue for a few years before approaching peak 2007 levels. As volume grows, so will prices, he said.

Relatively healthy economies in Latin America and a weak U.S. dollar bode well for exports from South Florida—especially at Miami International Airport, the leader in international cargo, Andrews said.

South Florida’s airports can use all the help they can get. For the nine months ended September 30, MIA, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Palm Beach International Airport all suffered double-digit drops in total cargo.

Fort Lauderdale had the steepest year-to-date decline, falling to 72,200 tons from 100,600 at the same time last year, a 28.2 percent drop. Palm Beach fell to 12,500 tons from 16,100, a 22.1 percent drop. MIA fell to 1.2 million tons, down from 1.5 million, a 19.2 percent drop.

The big hit at FLL came mostly from declining volume at FedEx, which handles about 80 percent of the cargo there, said Steve Belleme, the airport’s business development manager. FedEx is down 21.2 percent, year to date, he said.

“When they are 80 percent of the share, it doesn’t matter much what others are doing,” he noted.

FLL may see some gradual growth, but Belleme predicted it would take years before the airport replaces the volume it has lost this year. There could be significant growth when the airport adds runway capacity around 2014, and there is always the possibility that some cargo business may defect from MIA as both airports mature, he said.

UPS handles about 70 percent of the freight at PBIA, with passenger airlines handling the rest in “belly cargo,” said Michael Simmons, deputy director of finance and administration.

But, FedEx is scheduled to begin operations at Palm Beach in a 30,000-square-foot facility in December, and that will initially increase total cargo volume by 25 percent to 35 percent, Simmons estimated. UPS operates a 6,000-square-foot facility at the airport.

Globally, UPS has seen its freight fall about 43 percent this year, though it has only dropped about 10 percent at MIA, said Domingo Mendez, air-cargo marketing manager for the Americas. And there’s the beginning of good news after the company started growing again in recent months. He attributed that to increased capacity and demand in Latin America.

Arrow Cargo is another major carrier at MIA that has seen recent growth. The company grew freight 23.6 percent in September, and it expects to be up about 10 percent for the full year, said Santiago Soto, general manager for the Miami-based company. Much of the growth has been due to better management practices, but budding demand increases in Latin America have helped too, Soto said.

Still, the 600-employee company is suffering from lower rates, just like everyone else, Soto said.