Cargo traffic for United States airlines grew a bare 1.3 percent in 2005, ending the year with a slight 1.8 percent gain in December despite deepening weakness in the domestic air cargo market.

Domestic cargo, including mail, fell 1.2 percent last year, according to the Air Transport Association including a 1.1 percent decline in domestic cargo in December that left the carriers behind their domestic cargo traffic from six years ago.

The domestic decline included a 12.4 percent decline in domestic mail traffic for the airlines, including a 28.4 percent drop in December, marking a sharp setback in air carrier attempts to reclaim lost postal business.

For the year overall, air freight and express traffic including international business grew 1.8 percent but even that traffic slipped 0.4 percent on the domestic side. International freight and express traffic grew 3.9 percent over 2004, ATA said, including a 5.5 percent gain in December.