IATA reports an 11.9% jump in air cargo volumes for February
03 / 04 / 2024
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February was the third consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year demand growth for air cargo, according to data released by IATA.
Total air cargo demand for the month rose by 11.9% compared to February 2023 levels. The rise, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), comes as the market stabilises amid improved economic performance worldwide.
The trade body said that capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 13.4% compared to February 2023. This was due to the continued return of belly capacity.
The average load factor was down 0.6 percentage points to 45.1%.
“February’s demand growth of 11.9% far outpaced the 0.9% expansion in cross-border trade. This strong start for 2024 could see demand surpass the exceptionally high levels of early 2022. It also shows air cargo’s strong resilience in the face of continuing political and economic uncertainties,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
IATA further commented: “The growing air cargo demand is a reflection of buoyant international traffic which benefits from booming e-commerce and possibly, though to a lesser extent, a recently increased interest in sea-air services because of the ongoing capacity constraints in maritime shipping, among other factors.”
The organisation pointed out that the expansion in traffic continued to outpace year-on-year growth in trade and production figures.
Looking further at the economy, IATA said that February continued to signal a slight contraction for new export orders.
“The contracting new export orders are in line with the global shift towards a more inward-looking economic environment coupled with tight financial conditions, as well as potential concerns regarding the Red Sea Shipping Crisis.”
The regional exports performance outlook is varied. IATA reported the “US and PR China recently started registering some optimism, while expectations in Europe and Japan continued to indicate contraction”.
Source: IATA
In terms of regional performance, Africa and the Middle East were the strongest performers. African airlines saw 22% growth in air cargo volumes. “The intra-Africa trade lane showed 42.3% year-on-year growth,” said IATA.
Middle Eastern carriers saw volumes grow by 20.9%. “The Middle East–Europe market was the strongest performing with +39.3% growth, far ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 21.9% year-on-year,” noted IATA.
European carriers also performed well, with a 14.6% growth. IATA explained: “Intra-European air cargo rose by 24.5% year on year—the strongest performance in almost three years. Europe – Middle East routes saw demand grow by 39.3% year on year, while Europe – North America expanded by 5.2% year on year.”
And Latin American carriers achieved a 13.7% increase in volumes.
Asia Pacific airlines fared less well with a 11.9% rise in air cargo volumes, which was “a significant decrease compared to January’s 24.3% year-on-year growth,” stated IATA.
The decrease was “likely related to slowing activity after the Lunar New Year celebrations”, said IATA. It added: “Capacity increased by 23.1% year on year as belly capacity came online with recovery in the passenger business.”
North American carriers saw 4.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in February — the weakest among all regions.
“Demand on the North America–Europe trade lane grew by 5.2% year on year while Asia–North America grew by 3.9% year on year,” said IATA.
